


The Downside of Loving You

by LucindaAM



Series: Lovers Lost to Time; Soulmate AU [2]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/M, Light Swearing, Lots of important info in that one, No Smut, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Steve Rogers, Shared soulmate injuries, Should Read the First part first, Starts just before the beginning of Age of ULTRON, one gets hurt, the other bleeds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:21:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 24,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25928824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucindaAM/pseuds/LucindaAM
Summary: You and Steve have been Soulmates for over seventy years.With SHIELD gone and a host of new threats on the rise, the two of you and the rest of the Avengers have to step up and once again fight the fight that no one else can.There's only one problem. Seventy years ago, Bucky Barnes fell off a train. But he didn't die. Now he's after the one person who seems to be in splintered pieces of his memories from both the 1940's and the present day.What will happen if you find him first?What will happen if he finds you?Sequel to "The Flip Side of Heaven"
Relationships: Natasha Romanov & Reader, Natasha Romanov & Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers/Reader
Series: Lovers Lost to Time; Soulmate AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867126
Comments: 84
Kudos: 51





	1. On the Run

**Author's Note:**

> To anyone who hasn't read the first part of this series - I highly recommend you check it out first. There's going to be some confusing non-canon related information you're going to want to know. 
> 
> For everyone who has already read it. Welcome back.
> 
> Buckle your seat belts, and let's begin.
> 
> As with all my current fic's right now, this will be getting posted on a somewhat irregular schedule. Apologies in advance!

You cursed as a bullet grazed your thigh before you could turn a corner. Well, there went the plan for Steve not finding out what you were up to. 

Sure enough, not even a second later, your phone rang. You tapped your comm and answered the call. 

“Babushka.” Nat’s voice flowed easily. 

“Darling. What do I owe the pleasure?” You asked as you peeked around the corner. You quickly withdrew your head as more shots fired, splintering the brick around you. 

“Well, Dedushka would have called instead, but he’s too busy brooding in the corner of the conference room wondering how a bullet wound just opened up on his leg.” 

You cursed again and glanced wildly at your surroundings. You didn’t have a whole lot of options. “That IS a mystery.” You agreed, slipping further into the shadows of the alleyway as you strained one ear to listen for the sounds of the approaching policemen. “Was Clint perhaps practicing with his new hidden holsters again? You know he has a tendency to misfire when he’s playing with his toys.” 

The sounds of footsteps were getting closer and you looked to your left and realized you only realistically had one option. 

“Nice try, Babushka. Clint’s not here. He’s in the medbay. He was hit earlier.” 

“Oh no! That’s terrible! What happened?” 

“Come home and I’ll tell you all about it.” Nat countered. 

You slipped out of the alleyway and clung to the building as you raced towards the edge of the waterway. You weren’t going to have a lot of time to do this. 

“Of course. Sounds like a date. We can meet up at that coffee shop you like. You can invite Bruce.” 

“Babushka . . .” Nat trailed off warningly. 

You cut her off. “I’d love to continue our chat, pauk. I would. But you actually caught me at a bad time.” 

The sounds of French cops sounded behind you and you made a quick choice. “Love you! Talk soon! Keep your grandfather in the tower!” You hung up the phone and quickly dialed another number. He answered immediately. 

“Babushka. You better not be about to do what I think you’re about to do.” Tony’s voice warned. 

You laughed. “If you think I’m about to test out the waterproofing on my wings, then you’d be right. How sure are we that we fixed the issue?” You asked as you raced towards the waters edge. 

“Only 60% and you know as well as I do that in the field is NOT where you should be beta testing upgrades!” 

“I have dozens of hours of footage from YOUR lab that says you believe otherwise, mister.” 

You took a deep breath and ducked as the sounds of shots ricocheting off your wings filled the air. Sparks filled the night sky around you, and you took a deep breath. “No time like the present!” 

You dove off the walkway and into the Seine. You only had a few seconds to gather your bearings in the freezing cold, pitch black water before shots started raining down on you. You winced as another bullet grazed your arm and you flicked your wrist, spreading your wings out behind you. You angled yourself as best as you could and used the upgrades to propel yourself through the dark water and away from danger. 

You held your breath for just over five minutes as you used your wings to get you as far away from the pursuing cops as you could. Just as you were starting to see spots you pushed out of the water and collapsed on the bank of the river, coughing up water and gasping for breath. 

Your phone rang and you answered it without thinking. 

“Hello?” 

“Get your ass home.” Steve’s voice grit out in between pants. 

“Miss you too, Stevie.” You breathed as you laid on the bank of the river and looked up at the stars. Funny thing about them. In almost seventy years, they’d hardly changed at all. 

Sometimes you envied that. 

Steve sighed. “I miss you, doll. Now, PLEASE come home. I don’t know where you are, but you don’t know what it’s like knowing you’re out there somewhere, hurt, and knowing there’s nothing I can do to stop it.” 

You sighed again as you pushed yourself up and pulled your wings off your back. “I know better than you think, Stevie. I was the one stuck at home during the war, you know. Never knew if you were gonna come back to me or not.” You started folding up your wings before you shucked your jacket and pulled your wig off. You abandoned both in a nearby trashcan before you pulled your backpack with your wings safely hidden inside up onto your shoulder and started walking back to town. 

Steve was silent for a minute before he spoke again. “Tell me you at least have your gamma gun.” He said finally. 

“Yeah, baby. I do. Back at the hotel.” 

“Tell me you’ll use it right when you get back.” 

“Not a second later.” You promised wearily. 

Steve sighed again. “I love you so much.” He murmured. 

“I love you too, Stevie. I do. And I’ll always come back to you.” 

Steve laughed dryly. “Yeah. And you always have. The problem is that every time you come back just a little more banged up.” 

You smirked. “Don’t tell me you don’t like playing doctor for once, handsome. I’ve seen the look on your face.” 

Steve sucked in a sharp breath. In the background you could hear Natasha shouting for him to get a room and you laughed, a genuine one. 

“I’ll be back by morning, Stevie. Promise.” 

“I’m holding you to that doll.” 

You smiled again even though your husband couldn’t see you and went to hang up your comms. Just before you could, Steve’s voice rang out again. 

“Wait. Before you go . . . did you at least get what you were looking for?” 

You glanced down at the flash drive Tony had disguised as a bracelet for you just before you’d left on this particular suicide mission and you bit your lip. You’d been searching for signs of a ghost for months now and this had been the first lead you’d managed to find. You weren’t sure it was going to pan out. You had a feeling your quarry was better at covering his tracks than that and you didn’t want Steve to get his hopes up so you did something you’d promised yourself you’d never do. 

You lied to him. 

“No. I don’t think I did.” 

Steve sighed again. “That’s alright doll. Just get home safe. I love you.” 

You folded your free hand over your bracelet and let the guilt fester in your heart. 

“Love you too.” 

You hung up the phone.


	2. Home Sweet Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's better than one chapter to kick off a new fic?
> 
> Two chapters.
> 
> ;)

It was just after four in the morning when you finally made it into your rooms in the tower. You stumbled in the door and dropped your bags off on the couch in the living room. You stripped, leaving a trail of clothes from the front door to the bedroom. 

Briefly, you considered making yourself a quick dinner. You hadn’t eaten anything since that small scone you’d had for lunch; but you quickly nixed the idea. You just wanted to climb into bed and forget the world for a few hours. 

You did your best to sneak into the bedroom, trying not to wake your sleeping soulmate but as you slid into the sheets, Steve stirred. 

“Sweetheart?” He asked. 

“Shhhh.” You murmured, snuggling close to him. “Go back to sleep.” 

Steve didn’t respond as he shifted away from you and turned on his bedside lamp. You smiled at him sleepily. “Hi.” You murmured. 

He smiled back as he gently lifted the covers off of you and gently pulled at your limbs, looking at where your wounds had been only hours earlier. He ran a gentle finger against the unblemished skin on your arm and thigh before he glanced up at you again. 

“Satisfied?” You asked, reaching up a hand to run it through his hair. He grabbed your free hand and kissed your fingers before he settled back against the pillows and reached over to turn off the bedside lamp. 

“As I can be under the circumstances.” He murmured, reaching over to pull you against his chest. He kissed the top of your head as he relaxed against the pillows. His fingers tracing patterns against your back. 

You were well used to this post-mission ritual by now and you couldn’t say you blamed him. You were just as anxious about him when he left on missions without you. 

You sighed against him and let sleep finally swoop in to claim you. “I missed you.” You mumbled against his bare chest. 

He kissed your head again and you felt his lips smirk. “Shhh.” He echoed. “Go to sleep.” 

You smiled and for once, did exactly what you were asked to do. 

The smell of coffee woke you up. You stretched and turned to find the other side of the bed empty. Unsurprisingly. 

You slipped on a robe as you wandered out into your small kitchen. 

Steve was glaring at the coffee pot. 

You laughed as you wrapped your arms around him from behind. “Why are you glaring at the poor innocent coffee pot, huh? Don’t tell me it done did you wrong.” You teased. 

Steve huffed as he wrapped his arms around yours, keeping them pinned to his waist. “Don’t understand how you can drink that stuff.” He grumbled. “You’re as bad as Tony.” 

The coffee pot dinged and you slipped away from your husband as you went in search of a mug. “Where do you think he got it from, huh? I taught that boy well.” 

Steve rolled his eyes as he watched you fondly. You poured yourself a cup of coffee and blew on it, savoring the smells. 

“Corrupted an impressionable mind, more like. You made him the man he is today. Menace and all.” 

You gasped in mock offense. “I’ll have you know, Mr. Edwin Jarvis was responsible for those parts. Not me. MY Tony was an innocent angel.” 

Steve scoffed. Before he could argue his point any further, Nat barged into your apartment. “Dedushka.” She said, nodding at Steve as she passed him. She quickly slipped a mug out of the cupboard and poured herself a cup before she leaned over and kissed you on the cheek. “Babushka.” 

She turned to lean against the same counter you were leaning against and you set your coffee cup down and pulled up the sleeves of your robe and then bent to show her your unblemished thigh before you picked up your coffee again. 

She nodded, satisfied. 

Steve glanced between the two of you in amusement. There was a lot he’d thought about the future when he’d first woken up from the ice. Watching his granddaughter interact with the love of his life was not one of them. Secretly, he loved the way the two of you were so similar. It gave him a sense of peace to know that you’d had each other while he’d been gone and to know that the two of you could take care of yourselves. 

“So, Natalia. I’m home, as requested. It’s not exactly the coffee shop, and Bruce isn’t here, but how about you tell me what happened to Clint anyway?” You broke the peaceful silence. 

“Bruce?” Steve questioned with an arched eyebrow. 

You smiled at him knowingly but didn’t elaborate. 

Natasha grumbled in Russian under her breath and your smile only grew. 

Steve glanced between the two of you. “He took fire on the mission in Sokovia. We stabilized him. Dr. Cho fixed him up once we got back to base. Nothing exciting.” He said.

“Dedushka blew up another motorcycle.” Nat interrupted, eyeing Steve with a mischievous glint in her eye. “And he lectured Tony about his ‘foul language’.” 

Steve threw back his head and groaned. “You know what, Romanov?” 

You gasped, thoroughly scandalized. “You blew up ANOTHER motorcycle? Those don’t grow on trees you know.” 

Steve threw his head back and glared at the ceiling as the same mischievous glint lit up your eyes. 

“And you lectured Tony on his language, Steve? Really? You?” You turned to your granddaughter. “Did I ever tell you about the first time your grandfather came home on leave from the war? I had to wash his mouth out with soap he’d picked up such dirty language. He could put a gulag to shame.” 

Steve groaned and threw his face into his hands. “There were innocent ears on the field!” He whined, looking at you for backup. 

You stared at him for a minute before you realized what he was talking about. You glanced at Nat as it clicked and hid a chuckle behind your hand. 

Nat took only a second longer to understand the joke. “Seriously? Me? Steve, I’m a grown-ass woman. I’ve heard worse.” 

“Language, young lady!” You chastised, hardly managing to keep a straight face. "What would your grandfather think?!" 

Steve rolled his eyes at the two of you before he stomped off, muttering about how impossible it was to have TWO of you. 

The door to the apartment slid shut behind him. 

You and Nat drank your coffee in silent for a moment before she turned to you slightly, keeping her eyes trained on something just over your shoulder. 

“You find anything?” She asked. 

You sighed and put your mug down. You folded your arms across your chest and bit your lip. “Nothing good.” You mumbled, glancing at something over her shoulder. 

“What does that mean?” 

You shook your head slowly. “I don’t know. Yet. But I’m going to figure it out.” 

She nodded, stewing something over for a minute. “Does Dedushka know that you’re looking into it?” 

“He knows I’m looking for someone. Thinks that someone is a former SHIELD agent. Thinks I’m working a lead for Fury.” 

Nat nodded slowly. “Why lie to him?” 

You chewed on your lip for a moment before you shook your head. “If this goes where I think it’s going, I’ll tell him then.” You decided. 

Nat’s eyes strayed to you and she watched you silently for a minute. “If you get in over your head, you’d tell me, right?” She asked. 

You smiled down at her and brushed her curls out of her face. “You’ll be the first one I go to. Promise. Now. Tell me, how are things going with Bruce?” 

Natasha made a face at you and quickly changed the subject just as you’d intended. 

You listened half-heartedly as she talked about Clint’s kids and their latest exploits. Your mind was focused a thousand miles away on the info you’d uncovered in France. What you’d found had been dozens of photos of you. Some in the open. Some in more secluded spaces. All of them had one thing in common. Your name had been written on them in black ink with a single word below circle and with a question mark. "Soulmate?" 

Clearly someone had been looking into you. That alone was concerning enough but it was the phrase written just underneath in Russian that had really raised the hair on the back of your neck. 

My mission. 

The Winter Soldier's voice echoed in your head as a single memory played over and over. He'd dragged you kicking and screaming to the HYDRA base where you'd been held and tortured for six months. 

It had been years and you still hadn't forgotten the way his voice had cried those words as he'd led you to what had been meant to be your certain death. 

You had no doubt about it. The Winter Soldier was looking for you again. The question this time was, was it the Soldier, or your friend? And what were you supposed to do about it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, any thoughts? Comments? Prophecies?
> 
> Love to hear from you.
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER.  
> 2015 - Age of ULTRON. (Present Day).


	3. Happy Birthday ULTRON

You put the finishing touches on your lipstick before you stepped back and glanced over your look for the evening. 

Tony was throwing yet another lavish party. This time to celebrate a job well done. While you had been in France looking into the Winter Soldier, the rest of the team had been busy saving the world yet again. But the Loki’s staff had been recovered and tomorrow, Thor would be taking it off-world and the world wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. 

You took one last look in the mirror before you nodded and opened the bathroom door. Steve was sitting on the bed, tying the laces on his dress shoes. He looked up as you entered, and a heated look filled his eyes. 

He stood slowly from the bed moved to your side before he took you in his arms and dipped you low. “You look gorgeous, sweetheart.” He whispered as he closed the gap. He stole your lips in a searing kiss that left you panting for more. 

“Not so bad yourself, handsome.” You murmured as he pulled you up and spun you out of his embrace. You smirked at him before you pressed a hand to the wall, steadying yourself as you reached down to slip on your heels. 

“Ya know, doll, I was thinking.” Steve started. 

“A dangerous pastime.” You teased. 

Steve chuckled darkly. “Very funny, chucklehead. No. I was thinkin’ . . .” Steve trailed off and you glanced up at him. His eyes were hooded but the hungry look in them made you tremble with anticipation. 

“You were thinkin’?” You prompted. 

Steve cleared his throat. “I was thinkin’ we could stay here. No one will miss us anyhow and you and I could . . .” He trailed off again and his ears turned pink enough to see even in the dim lighting. 

You couldn’t help yourself as an amused smile crossed your lips. “We could fondue?” You added helpfully. 

Steve glanced up sharply. “How’d . . .?” 

You chuckled as you subtly shifted your weight, preparing to bolt. “You’re not the only one who was friends with Peggy Carter, Mr. Rogers. As it happens; Peggy told me a lot about you and your time together. Mentioned you were particularly chummy with a woman . . . what was her name again?” You feigned forgetfulness as you ducked your head so he couldn’t see the spark of mischief in your eye. “Lorraine wasn’t it?” 

Steve’s mouth opened and closed like a fish as you reached behind you and subtly grasped the doorknob, twisting it slowly. 

“That wasn’t . . . she didn’t mean . . . she kissed ME!” Steve sputtered as his entire face changed color to match his ears. 

“Really? Because I met Lorraine after you went into the ice. She was a very lovely girl. Said you had planned on running away with her. She’s still around, you know, if you’d like to fondue with her sometime!” 

You opened the door and fled your apartment leaving a trail of laughter behind you. You didn’t use any of your usual techniques for evading this time. You wanted Steve to catch up to you and eventually, he did. 

You felt his arms wrap around your waist as you stood waiting for the elevator. 

“I forgot how much you liked pranks.” He grumbled into your shoulder as he held you tight. 

You laughed. “Mmm. I forgot how easy a target you are.” You teased. 

“We could still go back . . . try some fonduing of our own.” Steve tempted, desperately trying to reclaim the mood he’d been setting earlier. 

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, killing his chances. 

“Sorry, handsome, duty calls. Besides, Tony and I went to a lot of work to put a surprise together for you tonight and if you’re not there to see it, then why’d we spend hours putting it together?” 

Steve grumbled as he followed you onto the elevator. “Ugh. Surprises. Tony and surprises don’t mix, doll. You of all people should know that.” 

“I don’t know. I thought the Iron Dog was a great idea. Until it set fire to the drapes.” 

“And peed oil on the carpet.” 

You sighed. “And nibbled a piece of Clint’s leg right off.” 

You and Steve glanced at each other and burst out laughing. “Yeah. Yeah. Alright. I understand. But I helped with this one. You’ll love it. Promise.” 

Steve watched you for a long moment, as smile slowly crawling across his face as the elevator counted down to the party floor. 

“Alright doll. But I still think it would have been a better surprise to have skipped the party altogether.” He said. 

You shook your head. “Live a little.” You encouraged. 

You stood above the party, looking down on the mass of people below with a smile on your lips. Steve was busy dragging Sam around to all of his old war buddies. The ones you and Tony had spent days tracking down. You’d been with Steve for the first round of introductions but you’d slipped away soon after. You’d spent too much of your life living in the shadows to be comfortable in the spotlight now. Still, it made you smile watching how Steve’s face lit up around these people he’d once called his friends. 

“You should be down there.” Nat’s voice rang from the shadows beside you. 

“So should you. Bruce Banner looks like he could use a dance partner.” You said, gesturing towards the lonely scientist. 

Nat made a face. “You could go dance with him. You can ask him all about the changes you want to make to the gamma gun.” 

You laughed. “Not the most subtle segues I’ve ever heard. But if you want to change the subject – You're getting rusty pauk. I saw you creeping up the stairs just now.” 

Nat rolled her eyes and bumped your shoulder as she came to lean against the railing you were leaning against. “Maybe I wanted you to see me.” 

You shot her an unconvinced look. 

She rolled her eyes and gestured with her chin down to the dance floor. “He’s doing better.” She said. “Since you got back.” 

You smiled as Steve’s eyes searched your corner until they met yours. He’d been checking on you every five minutes since you’d slipped away and you recognized the urge. Your eyes hadn’t left him once. Something in his gaze seemed to melt as he saw you and Nat together. He leaned over and whispered something to Sam before he started excusing himself and heading towards the two of you. 

“I’m glad you got to meet him like this.” You told your granddaughter. “He didn’t always have the weight of the world on his shoulders.” 

“Somehow I doubt that.” Nat grouched. 

You smiled sadly. “Well, back then, our world was a lot smaller. Easier to worry when you’re just worried about two.” 

Nat fell silent as she pondered something and you left her to her thoughts. You had enough on your own mind, yourself. Mostly, you were wondering just how long you dared stay and enjoy the company of your soulmate before you headed back out, tracking leads again. Wherever the Winter Soldier was, he wasn’t going to be there long and you’d rather figure it out now than have to start over. Again. 

A high pitched screeching rang through the air, startling you from your thoughts. Beside you, Nat tensed as the two of you instinctively looked for the threat. 

You met Steve’s frantic eyes below you and shook your head slowly. Where was the noise coming from? 

Your hand slipped beneath the folds of your skirt to the weapon strategically tied to your thigh. 

“A party? Yes. I interrupted a party. To . . . to celebrate. Heroes. To celebrate the heroes around us. But, no. How could you be heroes? You’re all killers.” 

A deep voice penetrated the party. You watched as Maria and Sam quickly began escorting guests out of the room. You glanced at Nat who’d already drawn her own gun and you signed for her to double around. You held your weapon to the side as you snuck to one of the control panels built into the wall next to you. 

“Uh. JARVIS? Hey, we got a glitchy suit here.” Tony called out, tapping on his phone. 

Steve glanced at him and then at you, but you hardly paid him any attention as you opened the backdoor you’d left in Tony’s system and started digging into the glitch. 

“There was a terrible noise.” A suit stepped out of the shadows below you, horribly mangled and with glowing red eyes. A bad feeling settled in your stomach as you watched Steve take a step in front of the crowd that was quickly thinning. 

You threw yourself harder at Tony’s systems but . . . but there were none. Something had demolished Tony’s systems. What could even do such a thing? 

You holstered your weapon and ripped the screen off the wall. If JARVIS couldn’t help you, you’d do it manually. You pulled at the exposed wires as the suit droned on. 

“Stark . . .” Steve started, keeping one eye on you and one eye on the glitchy suit. 

“I had to kill the other guy.” The suit said. You winced as you were shocked. Steve hissed and shook his hand out as he felt the same shock. 

“You killed someone?” Thor asked. 

“Wouldn’t have been my first choice, but in the rea world, you’re faced with ugly choices to ensure the completion of the mission.” The suit explained. 

“Almost got it.” You mumbled, grabbing a few more wires. 

“What’s your mission?” Steve asked. 

“Peace in our time.” The suit said. 

The phrase seemed to be a rally cry because as soon as the suit finished speaking, an explosion sounded and dozens more suits flooded the room, attacking the Avengers. You quickly lost sight of Nat as she pulled Banner behind the full bar. Steve disappeared under at least three of the suits and you winced as you felt a bruise blooming against your ribs. 

You were just about to activate the manual weapons controls when a suit flew out of nowhere and tackled you to the ground. “Uh-uh-uh.” The suit said, waving a finger in your face as it straddled your hips. 

“Get off!” You ordered, bucking your hips and sending the robot flying backwards. In the same movement, you rolled to your knees and pulled your gun out of your holster. You fired several shots and managed to take the suit out before it was able to get its bearings and come after you again. 

You pushed to your feet and took in the chaos below you before you kicked off your heels and rushed to the control panel again. You had just reached it when you felt something yank the back of your dress and send you flying backwards. You yelped as you crashed through a window and felt the millions of shattered shards slice your skin before you landed, hard, a story below. 

The breath whooshed out of you and you saw stars as your head connected to the cement floor. You rolled over to see Rhodey lying beside you. 

“You too, huh?” He asked, pushing to his feet. 

“Uh-uhhmmmmmm.” You bit out as he pulled you to yours. You held your side and probed it lightly with a finger. Broken rib. 

You wondered if it was your fault or Steve’s. 

A robot flew through the broken glass wall above you, a bolt of lightning chasing after it. 

“Babushka!” A frantic voice called. 

“Here!” You croaked. 

Tony’s face popped out of the window a second later, relief clearly written on it as he took you in. “You’re okay.” He murmured. 

“I’m fine too, buddy. Thanks for asking!” Rhodey sassed. 

Steve appeared next to Tony only a second later. He took one look at you and jumped down, landing hard on his feet and rolling along the ground, pushing heavily on his matching broken rib in the process. You groaned as your own rib shifted inside you. 

“i’ll get the gamma gun.” Nat’s steady voice rang out as Steve pushed to his feet and raced to your side. His hands ran over your bloody form nervously and you resisted the urge to slap his hands away. 

“I’m fine, Stevie. Besides, you already know what’s bruised or broken.” You noted, holding up his arm so he could see the matching cuts against his own flesh. 

He sighed and tipped his forehead against yours. “One day I hope we don’t match, doll.” He murmured. “I hate watching you get hurt.” 

“The rib yours then?” You teased, wincing as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close. 

He nodded. “They caught me by surprise.” 

You sighed. “I think they caught us all by surprise.” You said. 

Natasha’s face appeared in the broken window again. “Come on up, Babushka, Dedushka. Team meeting in five in the lab.” 

Steve nodded and you smiled your thanks at her as Steve led you to the stairs. 

“I hate to say it.” He started. 

“Don’t say it.” You grumbled. 

“We shoulda stayed home.” 

“You said it.” You pouted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bum-bum-bum.
> 
> Nothing too angsty.
> 
> Yet. 
> 
> ;)
> 
> For those of you who also read the "Shielding the Mind" Tony/Reader fic - sorry! I know that one covered ULTRON too so there is going to be some overlay, similar places, similar conversations. I'm mixing them up as best as I can and Reader and Steve are going to have to go separate ways for various reasons very soon so that should REALLY mix it up. In the meantime though, hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Sorry for the serious lack of updates this week. I only had the past three days off in between semesters and now we're back at it again. So, naturally, I went a little AWOL to recover but I'm back now, baby! 
> 
> Just still with slightly irregular posts.
> 
> As always, any thoughts? Comments? Prophecies?
> 
> Love to hear from you.
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER.  
> 2015 - Age of ULTRON. (Present Day).


	4. Fractured Pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! Originally posted this chapter on "The Flip Side of Heaven" but it's fixed now!

Steve practically frog-marched you to the lab and you could feel him trembling with nerves or barely contained anger the entire way. Once you arrived, Nat took one look at his face and handed him the gamma gun without comment. Steve helped you onto one of the only free workspaces in the place before he turned the gun on and pressed it gently to your temple. You both winced as the beginnings of a headache washed over you both. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Bruce purse his lips as he stared narrow-eyed at the gun. You shot him a small smile which he barely returned before Nat stole the conversation. 

“He’s been in everything. Files, surveillance . . .” She listed off while scrolling through the computer in the corner. 

“He used the internet to escape.” Bruce said, grateful for the distraction away from the gun packing the same radiation that had turned him into a green rage monster. 

“He’s in the files. He’s in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more fun?” Rhodey demanded. 

You glanced up your soulmate as you heard the distinct sound of metal bending in ways it shouldn’t. You reached up and placed a gentle hand against the one Steve had wrapped around the device that was currently healing you and his grip relaxed infinitesimally. 

“Nuclear codes.” Hill murmured behind the two of you. 

You glanced over Steve’s shoulder to look at Tony who was being uncharacteristically quiet. His brow was pinched in that way that it got when he was thinking something over while feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

As if sensing your gaze, he glance at you and you saw something dark flit across his eyes. 

Your eyes narrowed on him. 

“Look. We need to make some calls.” Rhodey said. “We need to figure this out.” 

“Figure what out? He said he wanted us dead. That was pretty clear.” Nat pointed out. 

“He didn’t say ‘dead’.” Steve argued angrily. You squeezed his hand as you kept your eyes on Tony. A thousand words were passing between the two of you and none of them were good. 

“He said ‘extinct’. He wants us extinct.” Steve finished. 

“He said he killed someone.” Clint added helpfully. 

“Who could he have killed? Everyone in the building was at the party and we got them out safely.” Sam spoke up. 

You shook your head. “Not everyone.” 

All eyes volleyed between you and Tony as the two of you continued your stare down. Finally, Tony caved. He pulled out his phone and flicked it in front of him showing the destroyed husk of what little remained of JARVIS’ system. 

Steve squeezed your hand before he lowered the gun. You smiled at him gratefully and hoped from the table. You stood over the holographic rendering and felt something tear at your heart. You’d been there from the beginning when Tony had built JARVIS. You felt like you’d lost a part of yourself. 

“What . . . what happened?” Bruce asked as he glanced over the carnage. 

“What are we looking at, doll?” Steve asked, coming up behind you and pulling you to his side. 

You burrowed into him grateful for the support whether he knew you needed it or not. 

“That’s what’s left of JARVIS. I don’t understand how or why but I think the suit killed him.” You murmured. 

Banner shook his head. “Not a suit. An ULTRON.” He said firmly. He looked from the team to Tony as silence descended. “Are you going to tell them? Or should I?” 

Tony sighed. “The staff. We were trying to use the staff to create a new defense protocol. I saw a suit around the world.” 

“Why?” Maria asked, completely baffled. 

Tony threw up his hands. “Because this? Us?” He gestured around the room. “This isn’t doable long-term. I’m tired. I’m tired of all this. Aren’t any of you?” 

He glanced at each of you in turn before he turned his full attention to Steve. “Come on, Spangles. Don’t try to tell me you don’t wish you and Babushka could finally settle down and get the life you never had. The house, the white picket fence, the kids.” 

Steve’s grip around your waist tightened and for the first time since Natasha had brought you back you realized that you and Steve had never discussed what either of you wanted out of this new life. You’d come back as an Avenger and had never really stopped. 

You wondered if he still wanted a family. 

You wondered if you did. 

“This is insane.” Natahsa interrupted, cutting through the akward silence that had ensued. 

“Why go after JARVIS?” Clint asked. 

“He was the first line of defense. It makes sense.” Steve responded. 

“No.” Banner said, shaking his head. “ULTRON could have assimilated JARVIS. That would have made sense. This? This is just pure destruction. This is . . . rage.” 

Everyone glanced up with a renewed sense of danger. If anyone knew rage, it was Bruce. 

Thor stalked through the room, angry sparks shooting off of him as he gripped Tony around the throat and lifted him into the air. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Use your words buddy!” Tony urged, prying at the Asgardian’s fingers. 

You took a step forward to try and pry Thor off of Tony, but Steve kept you pinned to his chest. 

“Oh, I have more than enough words for you, Stark.” Thor growled. 

“Thor! Report! What happened to the legionnaire that went missing?” Steve ordered behind you when you tried to go to Tony again. 

Thor dropped Tony to the ground and turned to face your soulmate. “The trail went cold. It’s headed north and it has the scepter.” Thor turned to glare at Tony again. 

“I don’t understand . . . what IS ULTRON?” Helen Cho spoke up. “What does he have to do with the scepter?” 

“ULTRON was supposed to be the Ultimate Legionnaire Task Receiving Online Network. He was supposed to be the JARVIS of the Legion. The idea was . . . is . . . has been for awhile now to get a suit of armor around the world.” Tony’s shoulders were slumped as he tried to explain. “I’ve been trying to design an AI powerful enough to handle an entire legion without anyone having to give orders. JARVIS is . . . was . . . amazingly intelligent but his make or break reaction time decisions processors haven’t been up to the task. I thought that maybe with the scepter . . .” 

“You have meddled with things you do not understand and now we are all paying the price.” Thor interrupted angrily. 

“The Avengers are supposed to be different than SHIELD.” Steve agreed angrily. 

“We are. SHIELD thought they were immortal and untouchable. I’m already looking past that. This was supposed to be our retirement plan. For all of us.” Tony argued. 

Steve shook his head disapprovingly but it was you that Tony was looking at. You smiled at him sadly because you understood more than anyone else here where he was coming from. 

“I don’t think we’re arguing that all of us would like to retire someday.” Bruce started. “I think what we’re finding fault with right now is how it turned out.” 

The rest of the group nodded while you tried to reassure Tony with your eyes. Some of the weight seemed to fall off his shoulders at your lack of judgement. The mother in you – the one that had practically raised Tony couldn’t help but jump in and steer the conversation away from blaming him. “ULTRON’s calling us out.” You said softly but firmly. “What are we going to do about it?” 

Behind you, you felt Steve square his shoulders and fall easily into Captain mode. “The world’s a big place. Let’s start making it smaller.” 

He led the rest of the team away, quietly giving orders, leaving you and Tony alone. You looked at him sadly until the sounds of your husbands voice faded away. 

Tony leaned against a desk and gestured with his hand. “Alright, Babushka. I know you’ve got something to say. Just spit it out.” 

You sighed as you crossed the room to lean against the same table as him. You leaned your head on his shoulder and smiled softly when he leaned his against yours. “This is about Pepper, isn’t it?” You asked quietly. 

Tony choked on his laugh. “Just went right for it, didn’t you?” He asked. 

You shrugged your shoulders. “You may pretend you don’t, but you wear your heart on your sleeve Medvezhonok. But the real answer?” You pulled away to smirk at him. “The walls of your tower aren’t as thick at you like to claim. I heard the fight a couple of weeks ago. I know Pepper wants you to be done.” 

“Yeah? And what about you and Spangles? Don’t tell me he doesn’t want the same thing. You should have seen the look on his face when you went through the glass tonight.” Tony shook his head. “I honestly wondered if he’d had a heart attack for a minute there.” 

You shook your head and rolled your eyes at him. Before you leaned your head back against his shoulder. “Regardless. Wanting to protect those you love isn’t a weakness, Tony. And it’s not something you should blame yourself for.” 

Tony sighed wearily. “No. I’ve got Capsicle to do it for me.” 

You sighed. “I’ll talk to him. In the meantime, sulking isn’t going to do you any good. You pushed yourself and turned to him, wrapping your arms around him in a firm embrace. Without an ounce of hesitation, Tony’s arms came around you, wrapping you in a painfully tight embrace. 

“Ya tebya lyublyu.” He murmured softly. 

“I ya tebya lyublyu.” You return, kissing his check softly. “I always have, you know.” 

He smiled down at you and kissed your forehead. “I know.” 

The two of you shared only a moment or two more before Tony pulled away from the embrace and turned to the holographic destruction of JARVIS’ crippled systems. “This is going to take forever to fix.” He murmured. 

You hummed as you turned to leave the lab. “It could.” You agreed readily. “Or you could look into using the Little Brother Protocols.” 

You shot a coy smile over your shoulder as Tony barked out a laugh. “Bet you’re glad I made a copy now, aren’t you?” 

Tony shook his head. “Only if STEPAN doesn’t lock me out of my labs again!” 

“Try not to do anything dastardly and he won’t!” You called back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awwww! Poor Tony. He was just trying to do the right thing and now everyone's mad at him.
> 
> Well, everyone but Babushka. She's got his back.
> 
> Of course that might cause a few problems next chapter when she and Steve have a little heart to heart. Steve is still too fresh outta the ice. He's still got a "black and white" view of the world and doesn't get [yet] that there's an awful lot of grey out there too. 
> 
> Never fear, though. He's about to start learning that lesson in painful detail.
> 
> In the meantime, what did you like? What do you want to see? What do you think is coming? 
> 
> Love to hear from you!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER.  
> 2015 - Age of ULTRON. (Present Day).


	5. Important Discussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a shorter chapter . . . but I like having it by itself. Hope you enjoy!

You stepped into the common room as Steve fired off the last of his orders. You came up behind him and wrapped your arms around his waist from behind. “What’s the plan?” You asked. 

He shook his head and turned in your arms until he could wrap his own around you too. “The plan?” He asked. “The plan is we get you back to our rooms and get you cleaned up.” 

You rolled your eyes. “I’m fine.” You argued. 

Steve reached up and swiped a finger against your temple. He pulled it away and gave you a pointed look as he showed you the blood that came with it. 

“I see your point.” You grumbled. 

Steve chuckled softly as he took your hand and led you to the elevator. 

The two of you wandered to your rooms in silence. Both of you were lost in a sea of your own thoughts and before you knew it, Steve was opening the door to your apartment and gesturing you in. 

He followed quickly behind you and took your hand as he led you silently to the bathroom. 

You gasped softly in surprise as Steve gripped you by the waist and lifted you effortlessly onto the bathroom counter before he left in search of a rag. 

Even after all these years, it still sometimes took you by surprise that he wasn’t the same small back-alley street rat you’d fallen in love with back in the 40s. 

Steve returned and gently stepped between your legs as he gently started wiping away the dried blood on your arms. You watched him as he scrubbed at your skin. 

“What are you thinking about?” You asked softly. 

Steve sighed and paused in his ministrations. His hands caged in your hips and his head dipped forward as he let out a full-bodied sigh. “I’m thinking . . . I’m thinking that it’s taking everything in me not to punch Tony through a window right now.” 

You resisted the urge to sigh yourself. “It’s not his fault . . .” You started. 

Steve’s head shot up. “Not his fault? Not his fault!? Doll, he could have gotten you killed. Thor was right. Tony messed with something he didn’t understand and like usual, it was everyone else who paid the price.” He went back to wiping at your arms. 

You shook your head. “You can’t tell me that you wouldn’t have done the same thing if you’d had the means, Stevie.” 

Steve shot you a dark look and opened his mouth to argue, but you cut him off by placing a hand over his mouth. “Tony knows he went about it the wrong way. He’ll be the first to admit it, believe it or not. But his intentions were good. He wanted to protect the people he cares about. You of all people can’t fault him for that.” 

Steve reached up and pulled your hand away from his mouth before he reached up and started dabbing at the blood coating your hairline where you’d hit your head. 

For another long minute, silence reigned in the small space. It wasn’t until Steve finished cleaning you up and tossed the bloodied rag into the clothes hamper that he broke the quiet atmosphere. 

Steve leaned up against the opposite wall and stared at you. “I can understand the urge.” He started. “But . . .” Steve whispered your name, his voice breaking. 

Your heart felt like it broke along side it. 

You hopped off the counter and made your way to Steve’s side. You pulled him to you in a tight embrace. “I’m fine. I’m fine.” You murmured over and over as you ran your hands up and down his back. 

Steve held you tightly as he trembled. “You could have died, sweetheart.” He argued weakly. 

“And I could die every time you go out in the field. It doesn’t stop you from being Captain America.” 

Steve groaned against your shoulder and you laughed sadly as you pulled away to look at your husbands face as you ran your fingers through his hair. “Tony was trying to protect us. To protect me. He wants a chance to have a family of his own . . .” You trailed off and bit your lip. “We haven’t had a chance to talk about it . . . but . . . would you like a chance to do that too?” 

Steve stared at you blankly for a long minute and you could feel the tension building in your chest. Though almost seventy years had passed since you’d given birth to your daughter, the memories were still fresh and in some ways, raw. You weren’t sure if you were more afraid of Steve saying yes or of him saying no. 

“I . . .” He started. 

You cut him off in your nervousness. “You never did get to meet Alena, after all, and we have Natalia now, and I know you love her, but I know it’s not the same . . .” 

Steve cut you off abruptly with a kiss that quickly turned passionate. He spun you around so it was your back pressed against the bathroom wall as he devoured you. 

“I . . . don’t know.” He finally said as he pulled away, panting. 

“You don’t . . .” 

“I don’t know, doll.” He admitted again. He took a few steps away and paced around the bathroom as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “Seventy years ago, that’s all I wanted. A life, a house, a family . . . with you. But . . .” 

“But then you went into the ice.” You finished, wrapping your arms around yourself and smiling weakly when he glanced in your direction. 

He nodded slowly. “I think . . . I think the man who wanted those things went into the ice. I’m not sure that someone else didn’t come out.” He finished, his eyes desperately searching yours for a hint of what you might be thinking. 

“Steve . . .” 

It was Steve’s turn to be nervous as he cut you off. “I will ALWAYS regret that I didn’t get to know my daughter, doll, of course I will. But the thought of dragging a new life into this world . . . ? Because you’re right about one thing, your life is on the line every time I walk out those doors and I can’t just stop being Captain America. Especially right now. The world needs the Avengers. It NEEDS us, sweetheart. I can’t . . .” 

“Steve. Hey! Stevie.” You walked up to him and placed a gentle hand on his face, stopping his rant as you tipped his forehead against yours and closed your eyes. 

His arms instinctively banded around you, pulling you loosely to his chest. 

“Just breathe, soldier.” You teased gently. You waited until you felt the tension bleed out of Steve’s shoulders before you glanced up at him. 

“We don’t need to figure anything out right now. After all, we have killer robots to go deal with. But I think it’s something we should think about, Stevie.” You glanced away before you looked back at him. “You were in the ice, but I’ve been alive for the past seventy years.” 

Steve opened his mouth, his face painted in regret and you covered his mouth with your hand again. “I’m not blaming you, honey.” You lifted your hand long enough to press a quick kiss to his lips before you continued. 

“I’ve lived, Stevie. A full life. Not all of it was fun, mind you, but I’ve lived it all the same. I . . .” You sighed a long deep sigh before you finally admitted something to yourself out loud. “I don’t want to do this forever.” You murmured in barely a whisper. You laughed in amazement at the realization. “I want a HOME to go HOME to.” 

Steve looked at you for a long minute and for the first time he saw the depth of your expression. The years behind your eyes that didn’t reflect in the youthful look of your appearance. In that moment, he saw just how much you’d been asked to endure without him there to help shoulder the burden he felt guilt rise up in his chest. 

He leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to your forehead. You melted further into his embrace and held back the tears threatening to fall because in the end, it didn’t matter what you wanted. You knew Steve wouldn’t be able to give up the shield. You’d never ask him to. But even if he could, there was a killer robot out there bent on your destruction and, although Steve may not know it, a trained assassin searching for you. Neither of those threats would go away simply because you had realized you were ready for a break. No; no matter how much you wanted to wish it all away and start over, you and Steve had both chosen this life and now you needed to live it. 

You cleared your throat against the influx of emotions welling up within you and glanced up at Steve again. You plastered on a smile you both knew was fake and nodded towards the bathroom door. “Come on soldier. You have your army to command and an enemy to vanquish.” You teased. 

Steve plastered an equally fake smile on his face as he gallantly held out his arm for you to take. “Together?” He asked. 

“Always and forever.” You smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww. A little fluff. A little angst. Get used to THAT combo for the next little bit.
> 
> Also - and I SWEAR this was the characters writing themselves again, but . . . we kind of had some interesting points be brought up here. What do you guys think? Yes to starting a family? Or no? I can kind of see it going both ways. And also- picture Nat who would be any future babies NIECE. Now THAT would be a fun dynamic to see. 
> 
> In the meantime, what did you like? What do you want to see? What do you think is coming?
> 
> Love to hear from you!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER.  
> 2015 - Age of ULTRON. (Present Day).


	6. It Will All Be Fine

You slid into your tactical suit as Steve paced behind you. “We need to figure out his next move.” You murmured. 

“You don’t suppose Thor got him with the hammer do you?” Steve asked wryly as he watched you dress. 

You chuckled. “No. No, I don’t. Natalia said he was in the internet. He could be anywhere by now but he’ll definitely be building an army.” 

“What makes you say that?” 

You shrugged as you followed Steve out of your rooms and headed back towards the main part of the tower. “If he was smart enough to defeat JARVIS, he’ll be smart enough to know that alone, he’s outmatched. We took out his last army. He’ll be looking for a new one. Perhaps a more durable one.” 

Steve nodded slowly and you could practically hear the gears turning in his head as he tried to figure out the next play. 

You grasped his arm and pulled him to a stop. “Maybe you should go find Maria. With Fury gone, she’s the one in charge of his eyes and ears around the world. Surely one of her contacts knows something.” You suggested. 

Steve nodded. “That’s a good idea. What will you be doing?” He asked. 

“I’m going to check on Natalia and make sure she’s alright. Then I’ll probably check in on Tony. With JARVIS gone, he needs another AI to run his life. I told him to turn on STEPAN. I should go make sure he’s not doing anything dastardly.” 

“Tony? Or STEPAN?” Steve asked. 

You smirked. “Either.” 

Steve chuckled and then he pressed a quick kiss to your lips before he disappeared around the corner. 

You turned and walked in the other direction, headed back towards ground zero. The party floor. 

Sure enough, Natalia had also slipped into her tactical suit and was busy trying to hack her way though the nearly destroyed systems. You pulled up a chair and sat next to her. “Find anything?” You asked. 

She shook her head, her fingers still flying over the keys. “Anything useful has been erased. I was hoping to find the backups, but it looks like he got to those too.” 

You nodded and glanced at her. “And how are you doing?” You asked. 

Her fingers hesitated over the keys. “I’m fine.” She murmured softly. 

“Pauk . . .” You started lovingly. 

She shook her head and glanced at you. “It’s nothing we haven’t seen before.” She reminded you. 

You scoffed. “You’ve fought an army of robots before? Was it while I was sitting holed up in my apartment with dementia?” 

Nat gave you a look that said she didn’t appreciate you bringing that particular topic up. So, you tried again. “You don’t always have to be the strong one, Pauk.” You murmured in Russian as you reached up to stroke her hair. 

Nat closed her eyes and seemed to melt just a little into her chair. “Why not? You are.” She murmured back in Russian. 

You shook your head. “I have your grandfather. We’re strong together. You can lean on us too, Pauk. Please. Let us in.” 

Nat opened her eyes and watched you for a long time as you continued playing with her hair. “If I promise to do that, will you let me in on what you’ve been searching for?” 

Your hand froze against her head. You thought for a moment before you shook your head slowly. “I can’t do that.” 

“I’ll find out sooner or later.” She warned. 

“I know.” You said simply. 

Before Nat could say anything else on the subject, Maria and Steve walked in. Steve handed you a tablet wordlessly and you took in the details of a gruesome murder. 

“Who’s this?” You asked, glancing up at him. 

It was Maria who answered. “Baron Von Strucker. The team fought him in Sokovia a few days ago.” 

You nodded. You’d read the reports on the op after they’d gotten back. It hadn’t been pretty. “Do you have a suspect?” You asked, handing the tablet to Thor who was trying to look over at it. 

“The Maximoff's. Most likely under the direction of ULTRON.” 

“Why would ULTRON want Von Strucker dead?” Clint asked, taking the tablet from Thor. 

“Common enemy? He’s the reason the kids have their powers.” Maria suggested. 

You shook your head. “But ULTRON wouldn’t care about that. If anything, he’d have wanted Von Strucker to make more enhanced’s.” 

“What makes you say that, Lady Rogers?” Thor asked. 

“I think he might be trying to build an army.” You said. 

Everyone glanced up at you sharply. A pin dropping could have been heard in the room. 

You shrugged your shoulders. “It’s what I would do if I knew I was going up against the Avengers.” 

The grim looks on everyone's faces made you realize that your logic wasn’t as flawed as you’d hoped. 

Thor nodded slowly. “That would be the wisest move for anyone daring enough to take us on.” 

“What are we all looking at?” Tony’s voice interrupted behind you. 

Clint slapped the tablet against Tony’s chest. 

“Strucker’s dead.” He said with curiosity burning in his tone as he looked over the photo with a critical eye. 

“The twins.” Steve responded shortly. 

“Looks like they did a Banksy with the crime scene for us.” Tony added with a touch of his trademark humor. 

You somehow managed to resist slapping your forehead and groaning. 

“Here’s the real question, though.” Nat started. “If the twins are working under the direction of ULTRON, we can assume he told them to leave the note right?” She glanced around and everyone nodded. “So why leave the message when you’ve already given the speech?” 

“What if it’s a warning?” You offered. You glanced around the room but no one seemed to be following. “What was the last thing ULTRON said before the legion broke down the doors?” 

“He said his mission was ‘Peace in our time’.” Banner said. 

“So, he’s going to go all Robin Hood on us? Down with the bad, up with the good?” Tony asked. 

You and Steve exchanged a look. “What if it’s bigger than that?” Steve asked. 

“What do you mean?” 

“War always has two sides.” Steve said cryptically. 

“You think he’s going after them AND us.” Banner clarified. Steve nodded. 

“So, we need to get to them first.” Tony summarized. Steve nodded again. 

Nat turned back to the computer and typed away. “The best chance is to find Struckers ties. Use him as a base point but . . . yup . . . all the files have been deleted.” 

“Not all of them.” Steve said. 

Twenty minutes later, the entire team stood around storage boxes full of documents. Tony whistled low. “When all of this is over, we’re going to have a serious talk about all the tress you’ve murdered in your attempt to go back in time, Cap’. We don’t use paper files anymore.” 

Steve glared at Tony and even took a threatening step towards him before you could grab his arm. “Tony.” You warned. 

Tony looked at your face and nodded his head once before he turned back to the folders. Everyone around the room smirked. Outside appearances made you look easily ten years younger than the billionaire thanks to your soulmates time frozen at the bottom of the ocean. But you’d practically raised Tony and it was nice to see you hadn’t lost your motherly right to make him shake in his boots. 

“What are we looking for?” Bruce asked. 

“Known associates, meeting places, old haunts. Anything that can connect Strucker to anyone else.” You responded distractedly as you started flipping through your own file. 

“There are a lot of those.” Banner said. “And they’re all . . . horrible.” He murmured. 

Tony glanced at Banners folder and started. “Wait. I know that guy.” He said. He took the file out of Bruce’s hands and started looking over it more thoroughly. “Yeah. From back in the day. He’s a black arms dealer. Operated off the African coast.” 

Steve shot him a disapproving look and you hid your grin behind your hand. 

“What?” Tony asked too innocently. “Conventions. Meet ups. You meet people. I never sold him anything.” 

Thor took the file and glanced at the picture. “And this?” He asked, pointing at Klaue’s neck. 

Tony shrugged. “A tattoo? I don’t know.” 

“No.” Thor pointed at something else. “That’s a tattoo. This is a brand.” 

Bruce took the photo and rolled over to the computer. “He’s right. It’s a brand in an African dialect. Means ‘thief’. Well, in less friendly terms that is.” 

“What dialect?” You asked. 

“Wakandan.” 

You, Steve and Tony all exchanged a sharp glanced before your eyes were drawn to Steve’s shield lying innocently in the corner. 

“I don’t follow . . .” Banner interrupted. “What’s so important about Wakanda?” 

“The strongest metal on Earth comes out of it.” You murmured, gesturing at Steve’s shield with a new sense of dread building within you. “If ULTRON gets his hands on Vibranium . . .” You started. 

“He’ll be unstoppable.” Steve finished. 

“Where is this guy now?” You demanded. 

“I’ll put a search out.” Nat responded quickly, typing away on a tablet. “As soon as we get a hit, it will be wheels up.” 

Steve nodded. “I want everyone prepped. This is our top priority.” 

Everyone nodded seriously, though Tony shot you a look you couldn’t quite read before he too filed out of the room. Bruce cleared his throat awkwardly. 

“You think this might be a ‘code green’ kind of mission?” He asked nervously. 

Steve sighed. “I’m sorry, Dr. Banner. I think you might need to come. You can stay on the jet until we absolutely need you.” 

Bruce cleaned his glasses nervously as he nodded and slowly walked out of the room after the rest of the team. 

You leaned your head against Steve’s shoulder. “If he’s built himself a Vibranium body . . .” You murmured. 

“I know. We’ve got to get to him before then.” 

You nodded your head thoughtfully. 

Steve bent down and kissed the top of your head. “You’ll be safe?” He asked softly. 

You chuckled. “I could ask you the same thing. Last time we danced with this guy, you were the one who got his ribs caved in, not me.” 

Steve snorted. “No. You just had the bleeding head and arms and face and . . .” 

“Alright, alright! I get it.” You smiled at him as you threw your hands over his mouth. 

You had only a second together before reality set in again. “Bring the gamma gun.” Steve said. 

You reached around his back and pulled it from the waistband of his pants where he’d stuck it after the lab and hadn’t taken it out again. 

“You beat me.” You said. 

Steve took the gun out of your hands and squeezed one softly. “Sorry doll, I just worry about you.” 

“And I worry about you. So, please be careful. I have a bad feeling about this one.” 

Steve nodded seriously and quickly kissed your lips. “It will be fine.” He promised. “Trust me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Prophecies? Suggestions for the future?
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER.  
> 2015 - Age of ULTRON. (Present Day).


	7. It's Not Fine, Not Fine!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ChangelingChild - You got me. 😬

It didn’t take long for Natalia to get a hit on Ulysses Klaue’s hide out. For a black arms dealer, he’d made it easy enough to find him. As long as you wanted to buy weapons that was. 

She’d also managed to confirm that he had an unknown quantity of Vibranium with him. Though no one was certain of ULTRON going after the Vibranium, it was a safe bet which made things even more complicated. 

The jet ride to Africa was steeped in a tense silence. Steve sat on one side of you, holding one of your hands tightly in his. Natalia sat on the other side and leaned her head against your shoulder, feigning sleep. Every so often she would glance around, checking to see where the rest of the team was before she’d close her eyes again. You smiled sadly down at her. You knew that was instinct trained into her in the Red Room. 

Tony was up front, piloting. Every so often, he would glance back at all of you and you could see his heart break with guilt before he turned forward again to focus on the controls. It was breaking you up on the inside too. That boy had only ever wanted a family and he’d finally managed to build one with the team only for everyone to turn on him at the first sign of disaster. 

You’d have to make sure he knew you’d always have his back. His parents, Peggy, Edwin Jarvis. They might all be gone, but you were still here. You’d make sure he knew it. 

“We’re five minutes out.” Tony’s voice filled the small cabin and everyone was instantly on alert. Natalia wandered over to Clint as the two of them started their premission checks. Their heads were bent together as they murmured back and forth. 

The rest of the team worked in silence as you gathered your weapons and checked your suits. 

Steve pulled out the gamma gun and pressed it into your hands. “I want you to keep this on you at all times.” He said, trying and failing to use his Captain voice on you. 

You shook your head and tried to push it back into his. “Safer if it’s with you, Stevie. There are some situations when I’m not capable of using it on myself.” 

“If that happens, I’ll find you, but you’ll have it with you.” He argued. 

You shook your head again but a soft voice interrupted your quiet fight. 

“Here. Maybe this will help.” Banner offered, holding out something. 

The two of you turned to Bruce and you took a second gamma gun out of his hands. It was slightly lighter. Definitely sleeker. Clearly new. 

You turned to him in awe and he shrugged. “I was thinking that it’s probably a good idea if all of us carry one when we go on missions for the next little while. Until we get a better grasp on what it is that makes you tick, it’s safer. You never know who’s going to be closest when disaster strikes.” 

Tears welled in your eyes and you threw yourself at the startled scientist, wrapping him in your arms. “I know working with gamma radiation is a sore spot for you, Bruce. So, thank you. This means a lot.” 

Bruce turned red at the contact but held you a little tighter than was socially acceptable before he nodded once and turned to prep his ‘code green’ recovery area. 

Natalia winked at you from across the jet and you smirked back at her. You turned back to see Steve smiling. “One of us should have thought of that.” He said simply. 

You stuck your tongue out at him. 

Steve smirked as he pulled his shield from off his back and nodded at the team. “We don’t know what we’re waiting for so everyone watch your six. Remember, ULTRON and the twins are together now. Expect anything. Everyone ready?” 

Everyone nodded. 

Steve nodded too. “Then let’s go.” 

The team crept through the mired ship, clearing it slowly. “We’ve got heat signatures.” Tony said. “Up ahead. I’d bet my left boot that hotter one is the fast twin.” 

Steve glanced back at you. ‘Be careful’. He mouthed. 

‘You first.’ You mouthed back. 

He smirked and then turned to lead the team towards battle. “Don’t compare me to Stark!” ULTRON’s unmistakable voice yelled out. Screams followed. 

“Sorry! Sorry! Hey, I’m sure that’s gonna be okay. Sorry. It’s just . . . it’s a thing with me!” ULTRON said. 

“Looks like this this is your party, Stark.” Steve murmured into comms. 

“Stark is a disease! He’s a sickness!” ULTRON ranted on, oblivious to the teams arrival. 

Steve gestured for you, Nat and Clint to take the sides as he Tony and Thor approached ULTRON and the twins. 

“Awww, junior. You’re gonna break your old man’s heart.” Tony said dramatically as he landed. ULTRON’s attention immediately swung his way. 

You slipped further into the shadows and trained your gun on Pietro Maximoff who looked like he was about to bolt at any moment. Hopefully your faster reflexes would give you just enough time to shoot the icer at him before he made a move. 

“If I have to.” ULTRON responded. 

“Nobody has to break anything.” Thor offered. 

“Clearly you’ve never made an omelet.” ULTRON sassed. Well, he certainly got his sense of humor from his father, now, didn’t he? 

“He beat me by one second.” Tony said. 

“Ah yes. He’s funny.” Pietro took another step out of the shadow and you tensed with your finger on the trigger. “Mr. Stark. Are you comfortable? Like old times?” He asked, glancing at the warheads below. 

“This was never my life.” Tony huffed. “You know, you two can still walk away from this.” 

“Oh, we will.” Wanda bit out. 

“I know you’ve suffered . . .” Steve started. 

ULTRON scoffed. “Captain America. God’s righteous man. What do you know of suffering? Last I heard you’ve been asleep for the last seventy years leaving everyone else to do the suffering for you. Did you bring that lovely wife of yours? I bet she knows a thing or two about real suffering. Maybe she can teach you sometime.” 

You glanced at Steve out of the corner of your eye and saw his fingers curl into fists. 

“Easy, Stevie.” You murmured in comms. 

“If you believe in peace, then let us keep it.” Thor said. 

“I think you’re confusing ‘peace’ with ‘quiet’.” ULTRON said. 

“Uh-huh. Okay. Well, as much fun as it is waxing philosophical with you, big guy, how about you tell us what the Vibranium is for.” Tony sassed. 

“I’m glad you asked that because I want to take the time to explain my evil plan.” ULTRON bit out sarcastically. 

Before any of you had the time to prepare, ULTRON shot a blast out of his hand, nailing Tony in the chest. You didn’t have time to react before another robot came out of nowhere, grabbing Steve by the throat and shoving him against one of the railings. 

Your own back slammed into the wall behind you as you felt bruises start forming around your throat. 

You turned your gun and shot the robot pinning your soulmate. The creature fell to the ground with a clang and Steve nodded in thanks at the you as you both rubbed your necks. Then the two of you jumped back into the fray. 

Steve immediately dove towards Wanda Maximoff as her brother took off. Before you could even attempt to get your bearings while looking for Pietro, Wanda slammed Steve back with her magic and you winced as you felt a matching bruise coat your back. 

You pushed yourself up and pulled your gun from your thigh as you started taking out bots and black market dealers left and right. You kept an eye out for a blue-grey flash of light and fired at it whenever it appeared but the kid was just too fast. 

You needed a new plan. “Cover me!” You yelled to Nat as you slipped further into the shadows, doing your best to draw Pietro’s attention. 

You watched as a silver blur seemed to zoom towards you. You took a breath and pulled your gamma gun from your other holster, praying that a dose of the radiation would slow him down at the very least. You took another breath as you aimed it at him, but before you could fire, something felt like it slammed into the side of your face. You and Steve fell to the ground in unison after Pietro’s fist made contact with your soulmate’s cheek. 

“You good?” Steve gasped. 

“Fine.” You grunt, pushing to your feet. “We gotta stop him.” 

“I’m all ears!” He called out, already engaging another robot. You watched as Thor took off the head of one of the robots Steve was pinning before Steve jumped off the deck and down below. He rammed the shield against Pietro and you watched with grim satisfaction as the kid collapsed against the crates. “Stay down, kid.” Steve warned. 

“Thor! Status!” Steve ordered, climbing back into the fight. You activated your wings and took to the air, wrestling with some of the baby-ULTRON's that were raining fire on your teammates. 

“The girl. She tried to warp my mind. Take care. I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Luckily I am mighty and . . .” Thor trailed off. 

“Thor?! Repeat! Thor?!” Steve ordered. 

One the robots grabbed at your wings and threw you to the ground. “Doll?!” Steve’s voice called as he grunted at the feeling of your impact. You opened your mouth to respond as you pushed yourself to your feet but your hands wouldn’t move. 

You glanced down and saw that your arms were banded with metal cuffs to a chair. You glanced around as a familiar sense of panic started to invade your senses. “No, no, no, no.” You mumbled as your eyes took in the glowing red symbol of HYDRA painted prominently against the wall. 

“Ah. You’re awake.” A voice sounded. Your head shot to your left to see the all-too familiar face of your captor smiling eerily at you. He held up a walkie-talkie and said the four words that would never give you peace. “Send the asset in.” 

“No!” You screamed. 

Wanda smirked viciously as she pulled her fingers from your head and slunk back into the shadows. 

You were too far gone to feel it when Steve was thrown against a wall, blood trailing down the cut on his head where it had made contact with sharp metal. “Doll?!” He screamed, fearing bubbling in him. 

He pressed to his feet and glanced around wildly. He didn’t see Wanda’s magic reach out to touch him as he desperately searched for you. 

“You could have saved me.” Your voice echoed from his right. He spun around and saw The Winter Solider standing in front of the control panel on a helicarrier. “No.” He mumbled. 

You walked around the Winter Soldier and repeated your words as the Winter Soldier pulled out a knife and flung it in Steve’s direction, impaling him. 

Steve groaned at the pain, but his eyes were glued to yours as you dropped to the deck, hand pressed against your matching bleeding wound. “You could have saved me!” You screamed as the Winter Soldier rushed forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You get to relive your worst memory, and you get to relive your worst memory. EVERYONE GETS TO RELIVE THEIR WORST MEMORIES!!!
> 
> Thoughts? Prophecies? Suggestions for the future?
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER.  
> 2015 - Age of ULTRON. (Present Day).


	8. Safe House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol. If you thought that last chapter was angsty . . . ;)

You were trembling. 

You didn’t remember how you got back to the quinjet. All you remembered was your six months under HYDRA’S thumb. You couldn’t shake the horrors from your mind. All the times The Winter Solider . . . Bucky . . . had come. Everything they’d made him do to you. 

You were trembling. 

And you weren’t the only one. 

Steve had you wrapped tightly in his arms. His hands running across your body as he muttered soothing nonsense into your ear. You could feel him poking and prodding at your head, your shoulder, your abdomen. Everywhere you’d been injured since the two of you had been reunited. He was trembling too as he rocked you both back and forth, his desperate embrace getting tighter and tighter when you didn’t respond. 

Across the aisle, Natalia stared dead ahead with a blank expression on her face. She didn’t tremble, but in some ways that was worse. 

The entire jet was silent except for Steve’s mutters. 

You could feel Tony’s worried eyes on you, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look up at him. You couldn’t escape the prison of your own memories. 

“Where are we going?” You heard him ask Clint. 

“A safe house.” Clint turned to look at you and Natalia too, concern bubbling on his face, but he quickly schooled his expression and turned back to the controls. 

Steve kissed your head desperately and you thawed enough to finally make sense of his words. “You’re okay. You’re okay.” 

You weren’t sure if he was lying to you or to himself. 

The early morning light was just starting to warm your skin when you felt the jet start landing. Your trembling had evened out over the past few hours as Steve had held you protectively in the warmth of his arms. 

“Come on, guys. Everyone out.” Clint said, trying for an upbeat attitude as he opened the jet doors. 

Steve helped you as you stood and then kept his arms wrapped around you as you walked out of the jet. You smiled at Clint as he rushed ahead to help Natalia. You had recovered enough to start to worry about her. 

You stepped out of the jet and breathed in the fresh country air and let a little more of your tension bleed away. You knew this place. You were safe here. You would be okay. 

Steve glanced around nervously, still poised for an attack. You took his hand gently and led him towards the house, the two of you and the rest of the team, painfully silent. 

“What is this place?” Thor asked as you all approached the door to the house. 

“Safe house.” Tony said. 

“Let’s hope.” Clint joked as he opened the door. 

The rest of you silently filed in. 

“Honey?” Clint called. “I’m home!” 

Laura turned the corner a confused expression on her face as she took in the sorry mess that was the team. “Hi. Company. Sorry I didn’t call ahead.” Clint apologized as he took her in his arms and kissed her soundly. 

“She’s an . . . agent.” Tony said, trying to wrap his mind around what he was seeing. 

You smirked and opened your mouth to contradict the supposed genius when you heard two pairs of feet running down the hall. 

“Daddy!” A little girl burst into view and your smile grew even larger. The last time you’d seen Lila she’d been a toddler. 

“These are . . . smaller agents.” Tony was openly gaping now. 

Everyone ignored him. 

“Did you bring Auntie Nat?” Lila asked. 

“Did I bring Auntie Nat?" Clint scoffed jokingly. "What if I said I brought Auntie Nat AND your other favorite person in the world?” 

Cooper’s face lit up. “Babuhska?!” He demanded. 

You laughed and stepped out of Steve’s arms for the first time since Wanda had gotten in your head. “Why don't you turn around and find out?” 

Cooper and Lila spun around and you and Nat stepped forward together as the children rushed you and embraced you tightly. 

Tears leaked down your face as Cooper clung to you. “You came back.” He whispered, pulling away to smile at you. 

You wiped at your eyes. “I promised I would, Pip.” You said, ruffling his hair. 

“And you always keep your promises.” Lila said firmly from Nat’s arms. 

You smiled over at her. “Yes, I do.” You agreed. 

“Sorry for barging in on you.” Steve said behind you. You couldn’t see his expression with your back turned to him, but he was smiling at you softly as you sat on the floor and chatted quietly with Clint’s kids. For perhaps the first time, he could see what he’d missed out on and he felt . . . longing for a future with it. 

“Yeah. We were busy not knowing you existed.” Tony sassed, still a little sore over the abrupt surprise. 

Clint laughed. “Yeah. Well, Babushka and Fury helped me set this up when I joined.” 

“We kept it off SHIELD’s files. We should keep it that way.” You said, glancing up at the group from your spot on the floor. 

Cooper mumbled something to you in garbled Russian and you laughed as your attention was turned back to him. 

The rest of the team slowly dispersed through the room as Cooper caught you up on everything you’d missed during the years you’d been MIA from the Barton’s lives. 

Steve couldn’t keep his eyes away from you for long. His own memories of your injuries after the fall of SHIELD made him anxious to keep you in his arms, but he kept himself appeased with just watching you instead. 

He was still watching you, in fact, when your pager went off. You reached into your pocket and pulled the device out, glancing at it quickly. Almost immediately, the tension that had been slowly ebbing out of your shoulders filled you again and the smile slipped off your face. 

Cooper said something and your attention fell back to him only to excuse yourself quickly. You walked over to Nat as Laura called Cooper over to help her make breakfast and you whispered something into the spy's ear. Nat shook her head vehemently but you nodded firmly. 

Nat sighed and clenched her hands as soon as your back was turned. 

The two of you watched as Thor shook his head and strode towards the front door. 

You bit your lip and threw a fleeting glance in Steve’s direction before you followed the Asgardian out of the house. 

Steve was on his feet moments later. 

“Thor?” You called. 

“I saw something in that dream. I need answers. I won’t find them here.” He called over his shoulder. 

“Where are you going to look?” You asked. 

“I need to find a friend. Dr. Selvig.” 

You nodded as Steve came out of the house behind you. “Can you give me a ride?” You asked. 

“What? No!” Steve grabbed your arm and spun you to face him. “Whatever message you got, it can wait. We need to stick together.” 

You closed your eyes against the desperation in his tone and you wished that you could listen; wished you could stay in the safety of his arms forever, but you knew you couldn’t. You shook your head and reached up to touch his cheek. “This can’t wait, Stevie. I need you to trust me.” You murmured. 

Steve closed his eyes tightly and leaned his head against yours. “I just watched you die, sweetheart. I can’t . . .” 

You tilted your head up and kissed him. “You can. And you need to. The team needs you here. I’ll be okay. Trust me.” 

Steve pulled away and gazed deeply into your eyes. “Come back to me.” He murmured. 

You kissed him quickly. “Always.” You promised. 

You glanced at him one last time before you turned and walked towards Thor who swept you close to his chest and launched the two of you into the sky. 

Steve stared after you for a long time before he felt the presence of someone else behind him. He turned to see Nat staring into the sky too. 

“Where’d she go?” He asked. 

Nat chewed on her lip, her brow furrowed in concern. “Nowhere good.” She said. 

“Care to elaborate on that?” He asked, turning his attention back to the sky, trying not to wish that you’d have a change of heart and come back to him now. 

Nat sighed and for a minute, Steve was certain she wasn’t going to say anything at all. Then she did. “She’s going after the Winter Soldier.” 

“What!?” Steve’s voice was hard and furious as he swung around to meet her gaze. 

Nat’s face was a blank mask as she took in his anger. 

Steve took a threatening step towards her. “That’s what she SAW Nat. The witch sent her back to the six months she lived under his thumb. He TORTURED HER.” Steve quietly yelled. Despite his rage, he was well aware of the innocent minds in the house behind them. 

Nat squared his shoulders as she stood up to him. “You don’t think I know that? I KNOW what they’re capable of, Dedushka.” 

Just like that, Steve’s anger deflated and he took a step back as another wave of guilt crashed over him. 

Nat’s expression softened as she saw the regret on Steve’s face. “You said that he’s still in there. The man you knew. If Babushka believes in him after all this time and after everything she’s seen; you should trust her.” 

Steve nodded slowly and prayed that Nat’s firm belief in you wouldn’t be tested. But he hardly dared hope that both you AND Bucky would return to him. 

“How are you?” He asked, stepping forward again and reached out tentative hands to grasp Nat’s biceps. 

Nat smiled softly at the awkward gesture. “I’ll be okay.” She murmured. 

Steve shook his head and pulled her into a tight embrace. “You don’t always have to be the strong one.” He murmured into Nat’s hair, unintentionally repeating your earlier words. 

Nat stiffened slightly before she relaxed, gently easing her arms around Steve’s back. “I know.” She whispered. “And thank you.” 

The two of them stood like that for a long moment before Laura called them inside for breakfast. 

Nat pried herself away and brushed at the few tears that had escaped her eyes before she smiled at Steve and slunk back into the house. 

Steve cast his eyes up to the sky one last time before he followed after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Splitting up is hard to do. But when you've got a lead, you've got a lead. Even if it's a bad time to get it.
> 
> Still though. The Avengers can defeat ULTRON without you, right?
> 
> The question is, will you be fine without them?
> 
> Dun-dun-duuuuuuuhhhh!
> 
> Thoughts? Prophecies? Suggestions for the future?
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER.  
> 2015 - Age of ULTRON. (Present Day).


	9. Going it Alone

Thor dropped you in the middle of an empty forest with nothing more than a preoccupied “Good hunting” before he once again shot off into the sky on his own quest for answers. 

You glanced at your surroundings before you pulled out your pager and took another look at the address. He was here. Somewhere. Or at least your contact claimed so. 

You sighed as you put your pager back into your pocket and started trudging through the wilderness. Now that you had a few minutes to think, you were realizing that you hadn’t been thinking at all. Really, you should have stayed with Steve and the rest of the team, not gone gallivanting off on your own misguided quest. Especially with ULTRON still at large and threatening the very existence of everyone you held dear. 

At the very least, you should have warned Steve about what you were about to walk into. But you hadn't exactly been capable of any rational thought. With your mind fresh out of Wanda’s blender, you had been laser focused on the only other victim your nightmares had contained. 

Bucky. 

Whatever he had done to you, he’d been forced to do it. 

You had to save him. 

So, you hadn’t been thinking when you’d begged Thor to carry you to the middle of the Canadian wilderness. 

But you couldn’t exactly regret it either. 

You rolled your shoulders and started your trek towards the city where a man matching the Winter Soldier’s appearance had last been seen. You were hopeful that you’d be able to find him first and help him, whatever that entailed. 

An hour into your trek and you still didn’t regret it. 

Two hours in and you were having to physically resist the urges to grow a set of wings of your own, fly back to Africa and punch the poor Maximoff girl in her poorly addled face. Your knee-jerk reaction to fly off across the country was HER fault. 

Three hours in and you were promising yourself a romantic weekend with your soulmate as soon as you’d saved Bucky’s brainwashed ass. 

Four hours in and you actually had to pause on the side of the road when you realized that at some point in the past twenty-four hours, whether it had been in Africa or on the flight to Canada, you’d lost your comms and had no way to contact your husband or hear his voice. You were alone. 

You knew you were just being overly emotional after a long few days, but you still had to take a few minutes to fight back the tears threatening to spill down your cheeks. You just wanted Steve to hold you and promise you that you’d be able to save your friend. 

Five hours in and you’d once again squared your shoulders. You’d found a gas station a few miles back and knew that you were almost to your destination; Clarington, Canada. You started making a plan. 

The city wasn’t as large as one you would have expected the Winter Soldier to have picked to hide in. The sign on the outskirt of the city had boasted a population of 92,000 people. A crowd large enough to hide in, but not large enough to disappear in. That was painfully obvious as you walked down the street, drawing too many stares for your liking. Your tactical suit wasn’t exactly ‘camouflage’ in the metropolis. 

You needed to disappear. 

You scanned over the crowd on the sidewalk as subtly as you could and then, without missing a beat, headed towards your target. 

A well-dressed man in a tailored overcoat was busy shouting into his phone as he gestured around him wildly. You passed by him quickly, a little too close to be socially acceptable, but just far enough away that he didn’t feel you as you slipped a hand into his pocket and out again, his wallet now safely in your grasp. 

You grimaced as you palmed the leather and kept walking, the angry man none the wiser to your newfound borrowed wealth. 

You dipped into an alley and pulled it open, scanning for cash. You were in luck. He had nearly $1,000 in small bills. You slid his wallet into a pocket of your suit, promising to return it back to him once you’d finished your mission, before slipped back into traffic and made your way to the nearest sporting goods store. 

You wasted no time in finding a coat to slip over your tactical suit, a hat, and sunglasses, quickly tossing all of them on before you left the store. If any of the store employees questioned what someone like you was doing in their store, they quickly quieted their fears as you paid cash for your gear and left a generous tip for them on the side. One particularly helpful employee even went so far as to kindly direct you to the nearest electronics store when you asked. 

You smiled in thanks as you slipped back out of the store and followed their directions. 

Twenty minutes later, you’d burned through almost all of your borrowed cash, but you had two burner phones and a wide range of gadgetry you planned on using to watch the Winter Soldier. 

All that was left to do now, was find him. 

You pulled out the pager and glanced at the address one last time before you started heading in that direction. You stopped at a food stand on the way, buying a quick meal before as you glanced over the apartment building your contact was convinced Bucky was living out of. 

You glanced across the street and saw a similar apartment building with several lease signs in the windows facing the street. 

Perfect. 

You ate you meal quickly before you wandered towards the apartment building and, without much effort, made it past the doormen ‘guarding’ the lobby and up the steps. Within five minutes you’d picked the lock on one of the empty apartments and had set up shop as you began surveilling the apartment across the street. 

You kept one eye on the street and another eye on gizmos you’d bought from the electronics store as you began painstakingly putting together an audio receiver to listen in. Your hands were steady as you soldered and rewired but your heart was pounding. Your gut was telling you that an entire year of looking was about to bear its fruit. 

A ding sounded through the apartment and you winced as your hand slipped and the soldering iron burned your finger. 

You pulled your pager out as you sucked on your burned digit. 

‘PLN4U.SS.NR.’ 

You smiled slightly and clutched pager tightly to your chest for a moment before you reached down and sent a single reply. ‘ROGERSS.’ 

You watched your pager for a long minute, waiting for another reply, before you turned back to your work. 

Steve------------------ 

Steve watched Natasha. “Anything?” He asked, impatiently. 

Nat rolled her eyes in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. “She’ll be fine, Dedushka. Patience.” 

Steve nodded and glanced at the burn on his finger that had appeared only a few minutes ago. He wondered what you had been up to. 

A sharp ‘ding’ sounded in the room and Steve’s head shot up as Nat leaned down to spit in the sink before she reached over to the counter where she’d left her own pager and read the message left there. 

“What’s it say?” Steve asked desperately. He couldn’t help himself, he had a bad feeling. He couldn’t tell if it was for you, or if it was for the risky plan he and the rest of the team were betting their lives on set for tomorrow. 

Natasha flipped the pager around and showed Steve the single word. ‘ROGERSS’. 

“With two ‘S’s?” He asked. 

Nat smiled softly at him. “It’s our codeword. Roger. Stay Safe. But it’s also a reminder of who we are.” 

“Rogers’.” Steve breathed. 

Nat nodded. “She’ll be safe, Dedushka.” She said as she put a comforting hand on Steve’s shoulder. “She’s a Rogers. She’s got more fight in her than you ever did and that’s saying something.” 

She smiled at him once more before she slipped out of the bathroom, leaving Steve alone with his nerves. 

Steve rubbed his chest. “Stay safe, doll. And come back to me.” He whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nat's message, for fun, translates to; "Plan for ULTRON. Stay Safe. Natalia Romanov."
> 
> Now - on to other things. What did you guys think of this chapter? I neeeeeeed the feedback on this one. 
> 
> Anyway; Prophecies? Suggestions for the future?
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER.  
> 2015 - Age of ULTRON. (Present Day).


	10. Tracking the Package

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks? It's seriously been two weeks?! 
> 
> How could this have happened?! Geez! Well, at least we have an update today, right?

Steve--------------- 

Clint landed on the roof of Dr. Cho's lab. “Something’s jamming the signal.” He murmured, slapping the monitor on the quinjet. “I can’t get accurate readings. I have no idea what you’re walking into.” 

Steve glanced at Nat who was strapping her guns into place on her thighs. Nat nodded once. Steve turned back to Clint. “We’ll handle it. You stay here . . . we may need a quick escape.” 

“Roger that.” Clint said, turning back to the controls. 

Steve and Nat snuck of the quinjet and moved through the halls. “Something doesn’t feel right.” Steve admitted. 

Up ahead, doors stood ajar and sparks flew from a few exposed wires where they’d been brutally ripped out of the walls. “You think?” Nat sassed with a brow cocked. 

Steve pulled the shield from his back and gestured in the opposite direction. “You go that way. I’ll go this way. You find anything, you signal. We’ll meet back here in ten.” 

Nat nodded once and then she took off down the hallway. Steve watched until he couldn’t see her anymore and then headed further into the building. 

The entire building was dark. Steve kept an ear out for sounds of anyone. He thought he could hear the sounds of groaning up ahead and he picked up his pace. 

His path took him straight to a lab that looked like it had been ripped apart. The groaning sounded louder and Steve swung his attention to the body on the floor. “Dr. Cho!” He yelled, racing towards her. 

Dr. Cho was struggling to sit up. Steve fell to the ground beside her and supported her back as he pushed her up. “Are you okay?” He asked as he scanned over her body. Blood was pouring from an open wound on her shoulder. Steve quickly pressed a hand against it, slowing the flow of blood as he searched for something more permanent. His eyes landed on a roll of gauze on the table and he pushed it against the wound before he reached down and pressed her hand against it, using her to hold it tightly against herself. 

Dr. Cho shook her head. “He’s uploading himself into the body.” She tried to explain. 

Steve bit back his curse and he wished you were with him. He needed more feet on the ground. “Where?” He asked. 

Dr. Cho shook her head, breathing heavily. 

Steve nodded. “Okay. Okay, don’t worry. We’ll find him.” 

Steve turned to leave but Dr. Cho reached out and pulled him back with a surprising amount of force. “The real power is in the cradle.” She said. “The gem. It’s . . . it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. It’s power is uncontainable. You won’t be able to just blow it up. You have to get it to Stark.” 

Steve bit back another curse but nodded anyway. “First I have to find it.” He pointed out. 

Dr. Cho nodded. “Go.” She said, shoving him away. “Go!” 

“You’ll be okay?” Steve asked, hesitant to leave her and her team like this even if they did have bigger things to worry about. 

Dr. Cho nodded. “Go!” She ordered again. 

Steve took off running. “I found Dr. Cho. She’s injured, but she’ll be okay.” 

“And ULTRON?” Nat asked in the comms, already running back to the rendezvous point. 

Steve shook his head although the team couldn’t see him. “Already gone. Banner was right. He’s building himself a body. He’s got the cradle. We don’t have much time.” 

“Copy that. Scanning for potential destinations now.” Clint said. 

Steve and Nat met up and sprinted back to the quinjet. “You have anything?” Steve asked after a minute. 

“I got a private jet taking off. No manifest.” Clint said. “Aaand . . . yup. There.” 

Steve and Nat rushed aboard the jet and raced towards the cockpit. Clint glanced back and then gestured at his screen. “It’s a truck from the lab.” 

“Let’s go.” Steve ordered. 

Clint took to the air and shot towards the truck that was already moving quickly through town. “It’s gotta be them. I got three in the cradle, one in the cab.” He said, scanning the truck. “I could take out the driver.” 

“Negative. That truck crashes, the gem could level the city. We need to draw him out.” Steve said. 

“You have any better ideas?” Clint asked. 

“I do.” 

Steve and Clint turned around to see Nat climb on board a motorcycle and open the bay doors. “Drop me low.” She said. 

“I don’t think . . .” Steve started, shaking his head. 

But Clint was already dropping towards the road and swinging around. Nat revved her engine and shot out of the quinjet and onto the street before Steve could stop her. 

Steve let out a frustrated growl but shook his head and turned back to Clint. “Get me on top.” He ordered. 

Clint smirked as he swung the jet back around and shot forward until he was parallel with the truck below. “You sure you don’t want a parachute?” He shot out over his shoulder. 

Steve flipped him the bird before he threw himself out of the jet and onto the truck below. Steve winced as he landed funny and slipped down the back of the truck before he could catch himself on the bars on the backside of the truck. 

Thousands of miles away, you flinched in pain your knee was nearly popped out of it’s socket. 

Steve had barely gripped the rails when a hole was blasted out of the metal beside him and the door Steve was clinging to was thrown open and he was slammed against the other side of the truck. 

He grunted as he shoved his boots against the side of the semi-truck and swung back around. Steve glanced in the truck and made eye contact with ULTRON just moments before the robot shot another blast Steve’s way. 

Steve grunted as the door was shot out underneath him and he landed heavily on the door. Sparks flew as the door dragged against the highway, Steve clinging to it. 

“Well he's not happy. I'll try to keep him that way.” Steve murmured. 

“You’re no match for him, Cap’.” Clint warned. 

“Yeah, Dedushka. Don’t get yourself killed. Babushka will never forgive you.” 

Steve grunted as he pulled himself up the door. “Thanks, kid.” He murmured sarcastically. 

Steve climbed to top of the door just as ULTRON stepped to the edge. “I don’t think so.” He said as he blasted Steve. 

Steve was thrown backwards, landing hard against the windshield of the car coming up behind the truck. 

You grit your teeth as you felt blood trickling down your back. If you hadn’t cannibalized your pager to finish building your listening device, you would have been sending Nat a strongly worded message. 

The morning light was just peeking through the early morning clouds when you finally, finally spotted him. His hair was a little longer than when you’d last seen him. He’d ditched the black straight-jacket style uniform and had found a hat somewhere. His clothes were unkempt and even from your distant vantage point, they seemed to be dirty. It was honestly a miracle you’d spotted him at all. He clearly didn’t want to be found. You watched as he glanced out of the side alley, looking around for anyone who could be a threat before he rounded his shoulders and slipped into the early morning pedestrian traffic. 

You threw your head against a wall as the breath was quite literally knocked out of you as it felt like something blasted against your chest. 

“What the hell are you up to, Stevie?” You grumbled. 

Metal hands clenched around Steve’s neck and briefly, Steve’s thoughts flew to you. You were going to kill him. 

“Dedushka!” Nat’s voice called out underneath him. 

Steve turned his head just enough to see Nat’s arm fling his shield up to him. He grabbed it gratefully and bashed it into ULTRON’s face without a moment’s hesitation. 

ULTRON laughed darkly as he turned back to Steve and gripped the soldier by throat and shot off into the air. 

“Keep him busy, Dedushka!” Nat called as she dove into the back of the truck. 

“What do you think I’ve been doing?” Steve demanded, prying at ULTRON’s fingers as swung onto ULTRON’s back. 

Nat opened her mouth to reply, but the floor shifted underneath her and she let out a grunt as she hit the floor. 

“Package is airborne.” She said. 

“I got a shot.” Barton was quick to respond. 

“Negative!” Nat shouted. “I’m still in the truck!” 

“What? Steve shoved his shield into the wiring in the back of ULTRON’S neck and held on desperately as the robot’s thrusters sputtered and died and the two of them fell out of the air. “Get out of there!” He ordered. 

Steve groaned as he crashed to the ground. A pair of robots came out of nowhere landed beside him. He groaned and wiped the blood from his nose as he pushed to his feet, wearily. He gave the robots a ‘come at me’ gesture. 

“Be ready!” Nat called, ignoring Steve. “I’m sending the package to you!” 

Before the robots could even take a step towards Steve, red mist surrounded them and ripped them to shreds as a blue blur shot past Steve. 

Steve blinked slowly as both Maximoff’s appeared before him abruptly. 

A hundred miles above his head, Nat severed the last tie to the cradle and stuck a bomb to the back to the back of the truck. She spun around, took a running jump, using her momentum to shove the cradle out of the truck towards the waiting quinjet. 

Just as she touched down in the quinjet, a metal hand reached out and gripped her leg, pulling her out of the quinjet and away from safety. 

“Nat!” Clint called. 

“What’s happening?” Steve demanded. 

“Do you have eyes on Nat?” Clint screamed, glancing around wildly. He couldn’t see anything out of his windows. 

“Negative. Do you have the package?” 

“Yeah. Yeah. But . . .Nat?” 

Steve squeezed his eyes shut. It took everything in him to shove his personal feelings aside and issue his next order. “If you’ve got the package, get it to Stark.” 

“But . . .” 

“That’s an order, Barton!” 

Clint swore and hesitated only a moment before he slammed the throttle and shot off towards New York. 

Steve hung his head and let the beginning festering's of guilt and panic consume him. You were gone, ULTRON had Nat. But what could he do? 

ULTRON was threatening the safety of the entire world. Steve’s personal world didn’t rank high enough on that list. 

Steve’s fists clenched in helplessness and he rounded on the twins in frustration. 

“What are you two doing here?” He demanded, perfectly willing to take his frustrations out on those he blamed for everything else. 

“The cradle. Did you get it?” Wanda demanded, ignoring Steve’s question. 

“Stark will take care of it.” Steve said. 

Wanda leaned away from him, her expression lighting up in fear. “No he won’t.” She said firmly. 

Steve shook his head as he watched her carefully. A new kind of worry started churning in his gut. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Steve said firmly, one of his hands wrapping around his ribs nervously. 

Wanda shook her head viciously. “He will do ANYTHING to make things right!” She exclaimed. 

Steve turned away from her and tapped on his ear. “Stark? You there? Stark, come in.” He waited for a moment, the sense of trepidation growing even larger every second of silence that passed. “Can anyone read me?” He tried again. 

Wanda shook her head sadly. “ULTRON can’t tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Where do you think he gets it from?” 

Steve bent his head and took a deep breath. 

He hoped beyond hope that wherever you were, you were having more luck. He also hoped that you were as far from ULTRON and his reach as you could get. He’d already failed to keep Nat out of the maniac’s clutches. He couldn’t bear it if he failed you too. As the beginning and all-too familiar pangs of a pounding headache invaded his senses he smiled softly. 

At least you would be okay. 

Thousands of miles away you took a deep breath against the pain as you pulled your gamma gun out of your holster and held it to your temple. You winced as the headache pulsed through you and tried not to wish that Steve was getting a raging headache too. Deep down you knew the aches and pains weren’t his fault. 

But they had distracted you. Bucky had slipped away. You didn’t know if he was planning on coming back. All you could do now was sit, heal and wait. 

You set the listening device against the window and angled it towards the building across the street as you wiped at the blood still dripping down your face. 

You’d come too far to give up on him now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve, Steve, Steve. You're really interrupting your soulmates plans over here. Ya know?
> 
> Anyway; Prophecies? Suggestions for the future? What did you think about the chapter?
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER.  
> 2015 - Age of ULTRON. (Present Day).


	11. Mission Impossible

You watched the street for hours, only sneaking out once to grab a few supplies from the cornerstone before sneaking back to your borrowed apartment. You ate your stale granola bars as you chronicled every person as they entered or exited the apartment. 

Bucky didn’t return. 

You pondered the wisdom of searching the building, looking for Bucky’s safehouse but quickly nixed the idea. It would take too much time and you had to hope Bucky would be back sometime soon. It was too early for him to skip town. His previous pattern was closer to a week at a time. 

You yawned and rubbed the sleep out of your eyes as the sun once again started slipping down towards the horizon. You’d been awake for almost two days straight now and were getting to the end of your rope. 

Then again, you’d been forced to stay awake for longer periods. And this was important. 

You pushed up from your crouched position and took a few laps around the room, keeping one eye on the street below. 

You had just completed your third lap around the room when you spotted a grimy henly down the street. 

You froze for just a second before you turned and gathered your meager supplies and threw them in the paper bag you’d gotten from the corner store. Then, you slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind you. 

You pulled your coat collar up and burrowed into your clothes as you quickly, but casually snuck out of your borrowed home and towards the street. 

Sure enough, Bucky was just slipping into the alley on the side of the building as you reached the street. 

You took a deep breath. 

Finally, after months of searching. 

This was it. 

You casually crossed the street and walked in the front door of the apartment building. Just like the building you’d been squatting in, this one had a front desk with a rather stern looking fellow keeping close eye on the security camera’s on the front desk. 

Perfect. 

You walked up to him with an extra sway in your hips that you were infinitely grateful your soulmate wasn’t there to see. You approached the man with a seductive smile and put on a nondescript accent that made your voice sound huskier than normal. 

“Hello, there.” You said, smiling at the man as you casually unzipped your coat. You paid close attention as the man’s eyes followed your movement. 

He gulped. 

Your smile grew. 

“H . . . hi, there. Ma’am.” He said, his face turning red as his eyes shot back up to yours and catch you watching him. 

You laughed and waved a hand in the air. “Ouch! Surely I don’t look like a ma’am?!” 

He chuckled nervously as his eyes swept your figure from head to toe. “Uh, no. No of course not. Can I help you . . . miss?” 

You winked at him as you glanced down at his screens trying to see if he had footage of the stairwell pulled up. Unfortunately, his monitors were turned at just slightly too steep of an angle for you to get a good view. 

“Well, I was hoping you COULD help me.” You said. You glanced down and pulled out the small cake you’d bought at the corner store earlier. You placed it on the desk and smiled at the man. “I was SUPPOSED to be meeting a friend here. We were going to celebrate. It’s my birthday, see, but it appears I’ve been stood up. Still though, I don’t want to eat my own birthday cake all alone. That’s no way to spend a birthday. I don’t suppose you’ll do me the honor of eating with me?” 

The man glanced at the cake and then at you and then back at the cake again. You licked your lips seductively when his eyes flicked once more up to you. 

“That’s no way to spend your birthday.” The man agreed. 

You clapped your hands and smiled. “Do you mind if I sit?” You asked, gesturing at the chair next to him. 

He glanced at it as though surprised to find another seat next to him, but he nodded quickly and turned to you with a much more confident smile. “Please, do.” He said. 

You turned the corner and sent a quick glance at the screens. It wasn’t hard to spot Bucky, the lone figure in the stairwell as he marched up the stairs. 

“Let me go grab some utensils from the breakroom.” The man offered, smiling at you flirtatiously. 

“Napkins too, if you have them. I’m a bit of a messy eater I’m afraid.” 

“That’s the best kind.” The man winked. 

You smiled until he’d disappeared into the breakroom, then you glanced around the lobby casually as you kept watch on the monitors out of the corner of your eye. 

You hummed nonsensically to yourself as Bucky reached the seventh floor and cautiously slipped into the hallway. 

He was good, you’d give him that. No wonder it had taken you so long to track him down. He hadn’t looked at a single camera the entire time and the long hair and scraggly beard obscured his features. The hobo look no doubt helped keep people away too. But not you. You’d recognize those broad shoulders anywhere. 

“You’re in luck.” A voice said behind you. You turned around to see the lobby guard holding up a pile of napkins. “Napkins.” 

You laughed and reached for the fork he held out to you. “I am indeed . . . Mr . . .?” 

“Please, call me Doug.” 

“Thanks, Doug. I’m Stephanie.” 

“Pleasure’s all mine, sweetheart.” 

You laughed as you dug into the cake and tried not to choke on it. 

Oh, the things you did for those you loved. 

Doug was a gracious host. Almost too much of one. It was all you could do to slip away an hour later. 

“Well, Mr. Doug. Thank you for spending my birthday with me.” You said, pushing to your feet. You picked up the remains of the small cake and the disposable cutlery Doug had provided and walked them a few feet away, quickly depositing it all in the nearest trash can. 

Doug’s smile gleamed at you. “No, thank you. I can’t tell you the last time I had this much fun on a shift.” 

You smiled softly. “I’m glad. I should probably go up though.” You said, gesturing towards the elevators. “I have to be up early for work tomorrow.” 

Doug nodded slowly. “Too bad. But maybe we could do this again sometime? I work every night except Fridays.” 

You nodded sweetly as you headed towards the elevators. “I guess I’ll see you when I see you, then.” You said enigmatically as you stepped into the elevator. 

Doug sent one last flirty wink in your direction. “Looking forward to it.” 

The elevator doors slid shut and the smile faded off your face as you pulled your hair up and untucked your shirt, making sure your weapons were easily within reach. Bucky was your friend. He’d saved Steve. He HAD to be in there somewhere. 

But if he wasn’t . . . 

You shook your head as the elevator ticked past the fifth floor. 

It wouldn’t come to that. 

The elevator slowed to a stop on the sixth floor and you exited into the empty hallway. You walked swiftly down the hall, towards the stairwell, stopping only long enough to ditch your new coat in the trash chute along with the leftover parts you hadn’t used to make your spy equipment. 

Then, you pulled out the burner phone you'd turned into a listening device and plugged one of the ear buds into your ear. 

You took a deep breath and opened the stairwell. 

You crept up the stairs, careful to keep your own face away from the cameras in case Doug was still watching. Playing your cards carefully, you nodded your head as though listening to a beat. If no one looked too closely, it would look like you were scrolling on a phone while listening to headphones. 

You walked up the stairs, ignoring the echoing of your own steps in the empty stairwell and the pounding of your own heart. For some reason that you couldn’t quite put a finger on, you were nervous. Something didn’t feel right. 

You brushed it aside quickly. It was probably just your nerves. You always did feel more confident when a gun was actually in your hands. To bad a gun would have most definitely raised some red flags with Doug downstairs. You’d just have to pray you were fast if it came down to a fight. 

You approached the door to the seventh floor and opened it casually. Your head was bent, still pretending to stare at your phone, but your eyes took everything in. 

Nothing seemed to suspicious at first. 

You slowly passed doors of apartments, training your listening device on each of them one by one. 

In one, a dog was yapping, angry at having been left alone. 

Another, a family was in the middle of saying grace over dinner. 

A third one had a couple clearly in the middle of showing each other passionate affection. 

In fact, you got to almost the end of the hallway before something caught your eye and your ear. 

Three doors from the end, you heard the ruffling of papers. But it wasn’t just any kind of paper. It was thick paper. Glossy paper. The kind surveillance photos were printed on. 

That alone wasn’t suspicious enough for you to break in. It was the other thing that you noticed that made you realize you’d found him. Faint scratches littered the doorknob near the keyhole. The tiniest showings of discoloration that made you know, without a doubt that the lock had been picked. 

You forgot about your listening device entirely as you leaned closer and brushed a single finger across the doorknob. You pulled it away and glanced at your fingertip, looking at the metal shavings that had come away. 

Not only had it been picked, but it had been picked recently. 

You pulled your headphones out of your ear and rolled up your listening device just a moment too soon. 

You didn’t hear as the man inside the apartment stopped breathing as he turned to listen intently to the sound of a single heart beating just outside his room. 

You didn’t hear as he reached down and picked up a single vial of something gaseous off the floor. 

You definitely didn’t hear him sneak towards the door as you slowly twisted the knob and let yourself into the apartment. 

You DID hear the sound of glass shattering at your feet. 

Your vision swam as you breathed in the fumes and you swayed on your feet. You shook your head trying to clear your vision as you looked at the looming figure moving towards you. 

“Bucky?” You asked. 

You pitched forward right into the Winter Soldiers arms. 

Thousands of miles away, Steve shook his head, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. He didn’t know why but he suddenly felt exhausted. Tony glanced at him. “You with us, Capscicle?” He asked. 

Steve glared at the man. Before he glanced back at Thor who was smiling and laughing with the newest recruit. Vision. “Wheels up in ten, Tony.” 

“Be there or be square. Got it.” Tony sighed, moving away from the Captain. 

Steve waited until the billionaire left the room and then he rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He just needed to hold it together for a few more hours. 

Then this whole nightmare would be over. 

Then he could find you. 

He just had to stay awake till then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, ChangelingChild . . . uh . . . I would have to say that no, he, uh, still doesn't get it. 😬
> 
> But he's running on almost as little sleep as Babushka is sooooo we can cut him some slack? This time?
> 
> Also, funny story. I DID actually look up paper ASMR so I can tell you for a FACT glossy picture paper sounds very different from normal paper. So. Yeah. That's some commitment right there. ;)
> 
> I LOVE your feedback, everyone! So please! Tell me! What did you think of this chapter?
> 
> Babushka flirting it up was fun to write. It's something I've wanted to do since Nat dropped the whole "Remember when you were the Senator's Escort?" story last fic. 
> 
> And, AND we got Bucky! Finally! Yay!
> 
> Anyway; Prophecies? Questions? Suggestions for the future? 
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER.  
> 2015 - Age of ULTRON. (Present Day).


	12. Sokovia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya know, I think we're getting close to the end of this one. 
> 
> But don't worry! I have a whooooole 'nother one planed out for the year between ULTRON and Civil War. So . . . be looking forward to that. ;)

Steve------------------------ 

Steve sat in the quinjet, the entire team staring bleakly in front of them. He turned to the corner to have a little privacy to himself and pulled out a single photograph. The edges were worn and wrinkled, it had, after all, been taken years ago. Back when you still couldn’t remember who he was and before you’d managed to save yourself, Nat and Steve had spent a day with you. You’d been unusually excited to see both of them and before Nat could stop you, you’d grabbed her around the waist and started leading her around the kitchen in half a waltz. Before long, you and Nat had been laughing together. 

Steve hadn’t been able to help himself when he took the picture and it was still a favorite of his. At the time, he hadn’t thought he’d ever share a happier moment with his two girls. Then, you’d gone and saved yourself, with Nat’s help of course. He smiled softly as he traced a finger over your face and then Nat’s before he tucked the photo away and squared his shoulders. He turned to the team. 

“ULTRON knows we’re coming. Odds are, we’ll be riding into heavy fire. That’s what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia? They didn’t. Our first priority is to get them to safety. All they want is to live their lives in peace. That’s not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get them to safety. Wanda. Pietro. That will be your job. You know these streets and you know these people. Get them out.” Steve said. 

The twins nodded seriously as though they felt the weight of that responsibility. Steve was glad for it. The Avengers were going to need all the help they could get on this one. 

“The rest of us will figure out what ULTRON’s been building. We find Natalia and we clear the field. This is our chance to stand and make a difference. We can do this if we work together.” He made sure to make eye contact with each member of the team. They all nodded seriously, even Vision. 

Steve nodded. “You all have your assignments. We can’t let even one of these bot’s out of here.” 

“We’re approaching, Cap’.” Clint interrupted from the pilots seat. 

Steve nodded again. “Everyone ready? Good. Then suit up.” 

The rest of the team moved to finish their pre-meeting rituals. Steve approached Banner cautiously. “Bruce.” He started awkwardly, not knowing how approach the topic. 

Bruce looked up at him with a curious expression that faded into a wry grin. He slapped a hesitant hand against Steve’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Steve. I’ll find her and get her out. I promise.” 

Steve smiled, grateful that the doctor understood and then turned back to the cockpit. “You have any readings, yet?” He asked Clint softly. 

Clint shook his head. “We’re flying blind.” 

“Should be interesting.” Steve sighed. 

Clint grinned. “Wouldn’t be fun if it wasn’t.” 

Steve paced the street nervously. True to their words, Wanda and Pietro were getting people out of town. Hundreds of people were calmly leaving their homes and moving down the roads. But he knew it wasn’t going to last. 

Sure enough; “Your man’s in the church, sir. It looks like he’s waiting for you.” FRIDAY told Tony over comms. 

Moments later, bots started literally clawing their way out the pavement below. 

“Go! Go!” Steve yelled, waving at the frightened crowds as their panic broke them free from Wanda’s spells. 

Steve flung his shield up as a few bots took aim and blasted him. He managed to brace his feet against the pavement and hold his ground. Then, he flung his shield out, pinning a bot to a car before he rushed over and ripped the thing to pieces. “Go, go, go!” He continued directing the flows of panicked people as the crowds rushed few roads leading out of the city. 

Steve raised his shield as a few bots took aim at the civilians. Before they could fire, the ground underneath the super soldier started shaking violently, knocking him down. “What now?” Steve groaned, picking himself back up. 

Steve swung his arms, trying to keep his balance as the city was literally lifted to the air around him. “Tony?” He asked worriedly. 

“FRIDAY?” Tony forwarded the question. 

“Sokovia is going for a ride.” The AI responded unhelpfully. 

“We still have civilians trapped!” Steve called. 

A crackle sounded over the comms as ULTRON hacked it. “Do you see the beauty of it?” He asked. “The inevitability? You rise, only to fall.” 

Steve’s gut clenched at the finality of the words and his mind rushed as he tried to figure out a way around ULTRON’s twisted plans. Oh, how he wished you were here to help. 

“You Avengers, you are my meteor. It is time the old things, the dinosaurs, are done away with. Time for a new world to begin. The world will burn with the weight of your failure. So. You can purge me from my own computers and turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. Because when the dust settles after the world has burned . . . the only still living in it will be what I’ve judged worthy.” 

Steve shook his head. “Tony.” He warned. 

“I’m on it.” 

The crackling sounds cut off as Tony kicked ULTRON off the team channel. 

Steve spun around and punched a bot, hitting the thing hard enough to shove his hand straight through the creature. 

“What are we looking at here?” Steve demanded, using his magnets to recall his shield, pulling it straight through a few more bots. 

“Well, Cap’. It’s not looking good.” Tony murmured, running over the scenarios FRIDAY was running for him. 

“How bad?” Steve grunted, taking a blow to the back that knocked him forward. He shook his head to clear it after it slammed against the rubble. 

“Global extinction.” 

Steve ran a hand over his check, wiping the blood away as he rolled out of the way of another blast and popped to his feet, kicking a car into the perusing bots. 

He jumped on the car and aimed his shield, but before he could toss it, a robot came out of nowhere tackled him into a car. Steve groaned as a cut appeared on his temple, trickling more blood down his face. 

“Cap’, incoming!” Tony warned. 

“Yeah. Incoming already came.” Steve groaned. 

Steve lay in the wreckage for a moment, wearily taking stock. Then, screams sounded beside him and winced as he pushed his bruised body out of the Steve shaped crater in the car and ran towards the terrorized civilians. 

“We gotta get this place down now!” He ordered. 

“Open to suggestions!” Stark grunted. 

“Banner? Banner? You there?” Steve called. 

“Uh, Banner’s not . . . here right now.” Nat said back sheepishly. 

“Vnuchka.” Steve breathed in relief. 

Nat choked on a laugh. “Have you been practicing that just for me?” She teased. 

Steve ignored her laugh. “You okay?” He demanded. 

“Course I am. I’m a Rogers.” She said softly. 

Tony choked. “She’s a WHAT now?” He demanded. 

It was Nat’s turn to ignore someone as she approached the city. “Are you okay Dedushka? Because rescue aside, I’m not sure I’ll forgive you if you get Babushka killed on this.” 

Steve grimaced at the pains already shooting through him and realized, alarmingly, a raging headache wasn’t consuming his mind. You weren’t using your gamma gun. Why weren’t you using your gamma gun?! “I’ll be fine, kid. Let’s just end this. The sooner the better.” He shook his head as panic started clawing at his chest but he took one look at the stranded civilians with nowhere to go and did his best to push his worry for you aside. “Stark, you focus on getting the city down. The rest of us have one job to do; tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt ‘em back. You get killed . . . walk it off.” 

Steve turned to the screams and watched in horror as the edge of the city started crumbling, taking two cars full of people with it. He raced forward, throwing himself towards one, grabbing it just as it started sliding forward. 

He dug his feet into the asphalt and, holding the bumper with everything he had as it started sliding forward, but before he could pull it back, the bumper came off in his hands. He watched helplessly as the car fell off the edge, taking its screaming passenger with it. 

Before the car could hit the ground below, Steve watched as Thor came out of nowhere. The two Avengers nodded at each other once and Steve reached threw himself against the ground, holding out his arms as Thor flew back to the falling car, grabbed the woman and used all of his Asgardian blessed strength to hurl the woman back into Steve’s waiting arms. 

“I gottcha. I gottcha.” He murmured soothingly, as he helped the woman back onto solid ground. 

Thor landed only moments later; the other car full of people that had fallen, being dropped beside Steve. 

“What, were you napping?” Steve panted. 

Thor just smirked. 

The Winter Soldier flicked his knife opened and closed as he watched another cut appeared on your cheek spontaneously. Your head lolled as though struck by an invisible force and you groaned in pain, but you still didn’t wake. He took a step closer to double check the bindings keeping your arms and legs strapped to the chair and watched as another cut appeared across your temple and as blood began dripping down your face. 

Vague memories tickled at the back of his mind as he stepped back into the shadows and twirled his knife between his fingers. This wasn’t . . . normal. But it wasn’t unusual either. He knew this. He just needed to THINK. 

He could use it. He just needed to REMEMBER. 

Another groan escaped your lips as your side seemed to cave in on itself. If the Winter Soldier wanted to check, he would have seen the cracked rib for what it was. Instead, he stood in the shadows and watched. 

You were useful. 

He just didn’t know how yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lil' more Bucky in our lives. Always good. Always good. ;)
> 
> I LOVE your feedback, everyone! So please! Tell me! What did you think of this chapter?
> 
> Prophecies? Questions? Suggestions for the future?
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER.  
> 2015 - Age of ULTRON. (Present Day).


	13. The End of ULTRON

The Winter Soldier turned back to the TV while he waited for you to wake. Half a world away, the Avengers desperately worked to save the entire human race. 

His eyes were drawn to the broad shoulders and blonde hair of Captain America, his mission. 

The ex-HYDRA agents' eyes were drawn from the blonde man’s face and back to you again. Though your eyes were closed and though you seemed to be bleeding more than the famed soldier was, The Soldat couldn’t help but notice the similarities between your two wounds. Acting on instinct, he approached you carefully and ran the tip of his knife over your forehead, watching in awed fascination as an identical wound appeared on Captain America’s face. 

He stumbled away from you in shock as more memories flooded him. Memories from before HYDRA. Memories of you and Captain America. Both looking different, both smiling. Both hugging HIM as though you knew HIM and cared about HIM. 

He stumbled away from your chair and back towards the TV, watching with rapt attention as the man you were so clearly connected to and who The Winter Soldier was so certain he knew, took on dozens of robots, alone. 

Steve---------- 

Nat came out of nowhere, twirling her electric batons as she took out assailants one by one. 

“Nat!” Steve screamed, throwing his shield at one of the bots that was aiming at her back. 

“Thanks!” She called back, pulling his shield out of the robot corpse and ducking behind it as another bot came towards her. She slammed the shield against its knee, bringing it down hard before she slammed her electric staff’s into it, incapacitating it as she threw the shield at Steve who used the weight of his whole body as he slammed the shield into the thing. 

He turned to Nat and glanced her up and down, making sure she was really alright. 

Nat rolled her eyes but inside she smiled. She was used to seeing Steve perform the ritual, but usually it was directed at you. It felt nice to be on the receiving end of it this time. 

“Come on.” She said, gesturing at the people still standing out in the open. “Let’s find them some kind of shelter.” 

Steve nodded and chased after her, ignoring the burning pain in his side. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say he had a cracked rib. He reached up and ran a hand through his hair, startled when it came back coated in blood. He hadn’t remembered getting hit. 

“Tony, what do you got?” He asked, turning his attention away from his injury. He’d be fine in a second, anyway. He just hoped you would be too. You still hadn’t turned on your gamma gun. Steve could only hope it was because you were trying not to distract him. 

“Nothing good.” Stark murmured. “There may be a way to blow up the city. It will keep it from impacting the surface. Assuming you guys can get clear.” 

Steve growled at the resigned tone in the billionaires' voice. “I asked for a solution, not an escape plan.” 

Tony shook his head, although Steve couldn’t see him. “Impact radius is getting bigger every second, Cap’. We’re going to have to make a choice.” 

Nat stopped at Steve’s side and glanced at him. “Dedushka, these people are going nowhere. If Stark finds a way to blow this rock . . .” 

Steve rounded on her in betrayal. “Not till everyone’s safe.” He said firmly. 

“I get it. I do. But everyone up here versus everyone down there? There’s no math there.” Nat tried to reason with him. 

Steve shook his head vehemently. “It’s not just about them, Vnuchka.” He said, eyeing her meaningfully. 

For the second time in as many minutes, Nat felt the warmth of being loved wash through her. She could see the desperation in Steve’s eyes and knew that a part of it; maybe even a big part of it, was desperation to keep her safe. She smiled softly and reached out to hold his hand. “There are worse ways to go.” She said softly, squeezing his hand. “Where else am I going to get a view like this?” 

Natasha turned to gesture towards the view which was breathtaking. Steve turned to face it to, squeezing her hand in a bruising grip. 

What neither of them was willing to say out loud was the same thing both of them couldn’t stop thinking. If Steve went down with the ship, you would too. 

Once again, it was starting to look like neither you nor Steve would be making it out of this one. 

“I’m glad you like the view, Romanov. It’s about to get a whole lot better.” Fury’s voice cut through the comms, interrupting the peaceful moment between grandfather and granddaughter only moments before a helicarrier broke through the clouds and rose up beside them. 

Startled chuckles echoed through the comms as Fury continued. “Nice, right? I pulled her out of the mothballs with a couple of friends. She’s dusty, but, she’ll do.” 

“Fury, you son of a bitch.” Steve chuckled wryly. 

“Oh-ho. You kiss your soulmate with that mouth?” Fury teased. 

A blue blur shot past and suddenly Pietro was standing beside Steve. “You tell everyone about that?” Steve asked, turning to Nat with accusation burning in his eyes. 

Nat shrugged. “Had to tell someone.” She laughed. 

“This is SHIELD?” Pietro interrupted, wide-eyed in awe as the helicarrier launched lifeboats towards the flying city. 

Steve nodded and turned his attention away from Nat as he took in the sight before him again. “This is what SHIELD is supposed to be.” He agreed. 

Pietro shrugged. “This? This is not so bad.” 

The kid shot away as Nat and Steve turned to the high rise they’d stashed the civilians in. “Let’s load ‘em up.” Steve ordered. 

Steve and Nat and the brave men and women of the local forces did their best to keep order as they loaded civilians onto the lifeboats. 

“Thor! I got it! I have a plan!” Tony called. 

“We’re out of time! They’re coming for the core.” Thor called back. 

Steve and Nat exchanged glances. “Everyone to the church!” Steve ordered as he and Nat broke into a run. 

Steve tossed his shield like a man on a mission as they tore through the streets. 

They burst into the church, where the rest of the team had taken up positions around some kind of . . . thing . . . in the middle of the church. 

“What’s the drill?” Nat asked, drawing her gun and shooting one of the bots as it flew too close to one of the shattered windows. 

Tony turned and gestured at the thing. “This. This is the drill. If ULTRON get’s his hands on the core. We lose. End of story.” 

A loud smashing sound startled everyone and they all turned as Banner stomped a bot into the ground. Once the beast was satisfied that it was truly dead, he came to stand beside Nat, brushing against her gently. 

Steve eyed the pair, his jaw ticking, but turned his attention back to the front of the church as ULTRON descended from above. 

“Is that the best you can do?!” Thor shouted out towards the metal monster. 

ULTRON said nothing as he raised his hand. For a brief second, Steve wondered what he could possibly be doing. 

The question was answered almost immediately as hundreds of robots came pouring down the street from every direction. 

Steve turned to shoot Thor a dirty glare. “You just had to ask.” He grumbled. 

“This is the best I can do.” ULTRON said. “And it’s exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to win?” 

“Well, we’re the Avengers.” Tony said, shooting Steve a meaningful look. “We win together, we lose together. But mostly? We win.” 

Banner roared and just like that, ULTRON’s swarm raced towards the core, desperate to activate the failsafe inside and send the city plummeting downwards. 

The Avengers grouped tighter around the core, taking out the enemies one by one as they dared approach. Only the sounds of metal being torn apart could be heard as each of them fought to survive in the hellscape of ULTRON’s making. Each of them fighting to do what they did best. 

Save the world. 

Time seemed to slow as they took out dozens of robots, fighting like a team for the first time since Stark had first unleashed ULTRON on the world. 

ULTRON seemed to sense the change in dynamics. He ROARED as he shot forward, attempting to take the core himself. 

Thor, Tony and Vision all stepped forward, attacking him with a combined blast that even ULTRON himself seemed incapable of fighting against. 

Silence descended on the church as all eyes were turned to the fight happening just outside it. 

Thor, Tony and Vision all stepped forward, only stopping as ULTRON collapsed to the ground. 

He pushed himself to his feet weakly and glanced as the team assembled in front of him. “You know, with the benefit of hindsight . . .” He started. 

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. 

Thor swung his hammer out, smashing the metal creation out of sight, across the city. 

The robots left standing scrambled to escape as one by one, the team turned to face them. 

Banner chased after them as they took off into the air, only managing to catch a few which he promptly ripped to shreds. 

“They’ll try to leave the city.” Thor warned. 

“We can’t let them! Not even one! Rhodey?!” Tony ordered. 

“On it!” The War Machine called back. 

“I shall assist Mr. Rhodes.” Vision said, calmly taking off after the fleeing bots. 

“The rest of us?” Barton asked. 

“We got to move out. Even I can tell the air is getting kind of thin.” Steve said, rolling his shoulders out. You guys get to the boats. I’ll sweep for stragglers and be right behind you.” He eyed Nat specifically as he gave the order. 

“What about the core?” Nat asked. 

“I’ll protect it.” Wanda spoke up immediately. Clint threw her a nervous look but she shook her head. “It’s my job.” She said firmly. 

Steve nodded. “Okay. Good luck.” 

Steve raced through the streets, shouting for the survivors and using his enhanced hearing more than he’d ever used it before. When he was convinced that not even a single heartbeat could be heard in the soon to be destroyed town, he turned back and raced towards the carriers. “Guess today’s not our day after all, sweetheart.” he murmured as he tapped his suit where he’d stored your picture. 

“Is this the last of them?” Thor asked as Steve raced into view. 

Steve nodded and glanced around as the last handful of people were loaded up. “Yeah. Yeah, everyone else is on the carrier. 

“You and Tony have a plan?” Steve asked. 

Thor nodded and opened his mouth to expand, but before he got the chance, shots rained down on the two. Steve dove out of the way, curling up under his shield and watched in horror as the shots headed straight towards Clint who was standing a few feet away with an injured kid cradled tightly in his arms. 

“NO!” Steve yelled, moving to swing his shield, but he knew even with his strength, he wasn’t going to be fast enough. 

But he didn’t need to be. Faster than he could track, a blue blur shot past him and right into the path of the shots, shoving Clint and the kid out of the way at the last possible second. 

Steve scrambled to his feet and raced towards Clint and Pietro’s side, sliding to a halt as Pietro collapsed. 

“What?” The quickster asked, smiling up at them with a dazed expression. “You didn’t see that coming?” 

Steve glanced down and saw bullet’s riddling the left side of his body. “Go, go, go!” He ordered Clint, shoving him and the kid still cradled in his arms towards the lifeboat. “I got him!” 

Clint took one last look at Pietro, lying still in the rubble and nodded, quickly racing the kid back to his mother. 

Steve pulled Pietro up, Thor helping to support his side as Steve pressed down on his wounds. “That was dumb, kid.” He groused. 

Pietro chuckled. “That wasn’t something you’d do? I must have mistaken you for someone else. You are Captain America, no?” 

Steve grinned tightly as he helped Pietro to the lifeboat and let the medics swarm him. 

“Nat? Nat, you on board?” Steve asked. 

“Injured, but alive. Hulk’s on ULTRON.” The spy responded. 

Steve grimaced. “Get yourself looked at.” 

“I’m fi . . .” 

“That’s an order.” He cut her off. 

Nat grumbled but pushed herself to her feet and headed inside the helicarrier as Steve watched the last of the people climb aboard. 

He took one last glance around the city and froze as the sound of thrusters powering off echoed around him. Without hesitating, he turned and launched himself at a lifeboat, barely managing to climb aboard before the city dropped below him. 

“Tony? You have a plan? Tell me you have a plan!” Steve called. 

“Working on it, Cap’!” Tony’s frazzled voice called back. 

Steve could only watch helplessly as electricity crackled from Thor’s location in the city as it shot downwards. 

“On my mark, Thor!” Tony called. “NOW!” 

Thor’s cries rang out as Clint joined Steve at the edge of the lifeboat. The two Avengers watched as lightning crackled across the flying rock and as the thing grew brighter and brighter until it exploded entirely apart. 

Steve glanced at Clint as the two of them desperately tried to reach Tony and Thor. 

“Tony, Thor? You guys there? Come on, don’t do this to us. Do you copy?!” 

“Stop yellin’ Cap’. Some of us have raging headaches over here.” Tony’s voice finally cut through the silence. 

Steve and Clint collapsed on the ground in relief. 

“You made it.” Clint said. 

Tony laughed. “You say that like you doubted me, Barton. That hurts.” 

Steve and threw his head back and took a deep breath. It was finally over. 

ULTRON was done. 

The world was safe. 

Just one question remained: 

Where was his headache?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVE your feedback, everyone! So please! Tell me! What did you think of this chapter?
> 
> Prophecies? Questions? Suggestions for the future?
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER.  
> 2015 - Age of ULTRON. (Present Day).


	14. Epilogue

Steve shuffled the papers on his new desk and tried not to think about the question that had been burning his mind since Sokovia. Three days had passed and he still hadn’t felt the headache that normally came when you used the gamma gun on yourself. 

All attempts to locate you had failed. 

Nat said it was fine. You’d done this kind of thing before. You HAD managed to get a message to her before you’d gone dark, warning her that you’d lost your comms and you were chasing a promising lead. 

It was possible you’d misplaced your gamma gun too. But that didn’t ease any of Steve’s worries. 

He wished he knew if you were okay or not. But the Soulmate bond didn’t work like that. The only thing he knew for certain was that you were still alive. 

It wasn’t much comfort. 

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Tony stood there with his hands in his pockets. “Am I interrupting something?” He asked. 

Steve sighed and shook his head. “Of course not.” 

Tony nodded and joined Steve further in the office. “We’ll find her, you know. Or, in better words, I’LL find her. Me and FRIDAY. She can’t hide forever.” Tony didn’t glance at Steve as he stared out over the compound grounds and watched a few trainees run laps. 

Steve smiled at the man softly. They didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things, true, but Steve knew Tony cared about you. 

He’d find you. 

Steve knew that for a fact. 

“Did you need something?” He asked, turning to look out the window too. 

Tony smiled and turned away. “Ah. Yes. Just came to tell you our resident Asgardian is leaving. Didn’t know if you wanted to join the farewell party.” 

Steve followed Tony out of the office. 

“You know, the rules have changed.” Steve said loudly as he and Tony approached Thor and began walking outside.” 

“Yeah. Well, we’re dealing with something new.” Tony agreed. 

Thor smirked. 

“The Vision is artificial intelligence.” Steve pointed out. 

“Basically, a machine.” Tony nodded. “Right. It’s not like it’s a person lifting the hammer.” 

Steve pointed at him. “Exactly. Different rules for us.” Steve said. 

“Nice guy. Still artificial.” Tony said sagely. 

Thor merely smiled. “He can still wield the hammer.” He said. 

“But if you put the hammer in an elevator . . . “ Steve began after a moment of quiet contemplation. 

“The elevator would still go up.” Tony finished. 

“Elevators not worthy.” Steve sighed, shaking his head in mock disappointment. 

Thor laughed. “I shall miss these talks of ours.” He said. 

“Not if you don’t leave.” Tony offered. 

Thor smiled and shook his head as they reached the front lawn. “I’m afraid I don’t have a choice. There are answers to questions I won’t find here. But do not fear, I will return.” 

“That a promise?” Steve asked. 

“An oath.” Thor nodded firmly. Then he raised his hammer to the air. 

Steve and Tony watched a rainbow of colorful lights fell from the heavens, sweeping Thor away and leaving an intricate Celtic symbol burned into the lawn. 

Tony sighed warily. “That man has no regard for lawn care.” He grumbled. 

He sighed again and turned to walk to his care, Steve following after him. “I’m still gonna miss him, though. And you’re going to miss me.” 

Steve laughed. “I will miss you.” He agreed. 

“Ya know, maybe it’s time I take a page out of Barton’s book. Build Pepper a farm? Hope no one blows it up?” Tony glanced at Steve and then back at his car. “Maybe once you find Babushka, you and her should take a page out of his book too. As much as it gags me to say this, it’s not too late for you two to make a few more Romanov’s to run around the world, terrorizing the bad guys. I still want to know how THAT happened by the way.” 

Steve shook his head exasperatedly. “Not my story to tell. I wasn’t there for it.” He reminded the billionaire. “But, a family? I don’t know . . . we talked about it. Briefly . . .” Steve shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know that I’m there yet.” 

Tony smiled, though it came out as more of a grimace at the thought of his mother figure and his friend making babies together. “You’ll get there one day.” He said, slapping Steve on the chest. “Until then, you have a compound to run, and I have a Babushka to find.” 

“Bye, Tony.” 

“Call if you need me.” 

Steve watched as Tony drove away, his thoughts once again turning towards you. 

But Nat said that you were fine. 

He could trust that. 

He pushed his concerns to the back of his mind and headed back into the compound, looking for his granddaughter. 

Steve stood in the doorway, arms crossed against his chest, a frown on his face. Nat hadn’t even turned around as he approached, and Steve was willing to bet that she hadn’t heard him approach. A first for her. Something was bothering her. That much was obvious. He wished she felt comfortable enough to share whatever it was with him. 

He wished he had the skills necessary to deal with it. 

Ultimately, he did what usually helped him best. “Want to keep staring at the wall? Or do you want to get to work?” He asked, providing the spy with a distraction from her troubles. 

Nat spun around in surprise but quickly masked it with a smirk. “Thought you and Tony were still staring into each others eyes. Didn’t want to interrupt.” She said, as she stalked towards him. “Really, Dedushka. The sparks that were flying . . . does Babushka know?” She teased. 

“Hilarious.” Steve muttered as he shook his head. He handed her a tablet as he turned to walk with her out of the room. 

“How do we look?” Nat asked. 

“Well they’re not the ‘27 Yankees.” He sassed. 

“We got some hitters.” Nat argued, glancing over the tablet. 

Steve nodded. “They’re good.” He agreed. “But they’re no team.” 

“We can beat them into shape.” Nat smirked. 

Steve grunted as a sharp pain stung his arm. 

Nat’s head swung in his direction and followed his eyes. “Is that blood?” She asked. 

Steve’s brow furrowed in confusion as he rolled his sleeves back. Nat let out a startled gasp. There, carved into Steves arm was one word. ‘Safe.’ 

Steve breathed out your name, tension he didn’t know he had falling from his shoulders. 

“Even off the grid she finds a way.” Nat chuckled as her fingers fluttered over the bloody wound. “Come on. We should patch this up before you scare the recruits away. Don’t want them thinking there’s a ghost around that’s gonna carve cryptic messages into them.” 

Steve chuckled and followed her towards the med bay. “Come back to me, doll.” He whispered at his arm. 

Miles away you pulled at the restraints keeping your arms pinned to the chair as you stared at the bleeding message now carved on your arm. 

You turned your glare to the man towering over you as he reached down and pulled the gag from your mouth. He stepped into the thin shaft of light streaming in from the small slit in the blinds and your heart stopped beating. 

The Winter Soldier glared at you as he leaned close, a knife dripping with your blood still clutched in his metal hand. He opened his mouth and asked a single unnerving question. “Who the hell am I?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
> 
> I was so excited to post this one!!!!!
> 
> I mentioned it in a previous chapter, but I'll say it again; 
> 
> Never fear! I have another fic in the works set between ULTRON and Civil War coming soon. Can't wait to share more of Babushka and Steve's story with you guys! 
> 
> Thanks everyone who's read and kept up with it despite the irregular updates. I love you guys. 
> 
> Don't forget to drop some love if you haven't, it really does make my day.
> 
> Also, I LOVE your feedback, everyone! So please! Tell me! What did you think of this chapter?
> 
> Prophecies? Questions? Suggestions for the future?
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER.  
> 2015 - Age of ULTRON. (Present Day).

**Author's Note:**

> Are you ready?


End file.
